'Middle class not socially concerned'

'Middle class not socially concerned'

JAKARTA (JP): Jakarta's middle class does not have a
sufficient level of social awareness which could empower them to
improve the city's public services, a sociologist says.

Paulus Wirutomo, a lecturer at the University of Indonesia's
school of social and political sciences, said they (middle class
people) still expect the government to tackle all problems
related to public service.

"Most of them wanted to have organized and tidy sidewalks
along Jakarta's roads. But they assume it is the city
administration's job to take care of the sidewalks, and in no way
involves themselves," he said.

Wirutomo was interviewed yesterday in connection with the
recent study conducted by the Kompas daily.

The study found that Jakarta's middle class wants political
and social change, but does not want to take any risks.

Wirutomo, who chaired the sociological laboratory at the
university, said that such an attitude was typical among members
of the big city's middle class.

The lecturer said they spent their time and attention mostly
pursuing their own interests because they were afraid of facing
the possibility of losing what they had just gained.

The middle class group did not have a tradition of handling an
organization or forum to discuss their social interests, which
sometimes conflict with each other, he said.

"The result is that they have never solved their own problems
or had their problems solved," he said.

He referred to their frequent complaints about traffic
congestion in the city, which has reached a point of
inefficiency. "They did almost nothing to solve the problem,
except complain," he said.

Consumeristic

Wirutomo said he agreed with Kompas' research finding that
Jakarta's middle class cared more about economic growth than
political freedom.

"Therefore, their lifestyle is becoming more consumeristic,"
Wirutomo said.

He said industrialization, which the government encouraged,
inevitably led the people to a consumeristic attitude, which was
not morally wrong.

They began purchasing more and more goods and properties, he
said.

Wirutomo said the most mobile members of Jakarta's middle
class in economic activities were those who emerged only around
the 1980s.

They became members of the middle class only because they were
given the opportunity by the New Order government, which they
would never think of betraying. (07)