My Hope: Please Ensure All Teachers in This Country Are Properly Cared For

Every morning at 05.30 WIB, Abdul Azis (45) pedals a faded red folding bicycle. On the back seat, his eldest daughter, Azalea (11), rides along to MI Nurul Islam 1, where Azis teaches and his daughter attends school. The bicycle he uses is not his own but borrowed from his nephew. Since November 2025, it has become his only means of transport after his motorbike was stolen, coinciding with the birth of his second child. “Initially, I had an old motorbike, but in November it was stolen. It happened right around the time I was blessed with my second child,” Azis said when met on Wednesday (22/4/2026). Amid this routine, Azis carries out his role as an honorary teacher in North Jakarta with a stipend of around Rp 2 million per month, an amount he considers insufficient to meet living needs in the capital. From his rented house in Tegal Alur, Kalideres, Azis travels about 6 kilometres to the school in Kamal Muara, Penjaringan. The journey takes him around 30 minutes. However, the route is not without risks. He must share the road with large container trucks and pass several inclines that force him to dismount and push the bicycle. “Sometimes my daughter says, ‘Abi, be careful, watch out for the big vehicle, move over a bit.’ Even sometimes we get off the bicycle to avoid large vehicles,” Azis said. Despite the fatigue and worry, he continues this routine every day to teach. In fact, Azis has the option to use integrated public transport like JakLingko, which can be accessed for free. However, the route he would have to take is considered too long and inefficient. “If I take JakLingko, it could take more than an hour. I have to go around and still walk,” he said. Therefore, the borrowed bicycle becomes the most feasible choice, even though it comes at the cost of extra effort and road risks.