Oh dear 'becak'! How I miss you!
Oh dear 'becak'! How I miss you!
By Kartina Soejono
JAKARTA (JP): I bless the fact that I am a lansia (lanjut
usia), or elderly, when I no longer have to accompany small
children to a playgroup, kindergarten or elementary school.
Not that I don't like children or taking them to school. But
I'm often relieved when I see young mothers in my neighborhood
frantically trying to escort their youngsters on an ojeg
(motorcycles for rent) when there are no becak (pedicab)
available.
A toddler of three clings to the driver's back, while another
five-year-old stand's between the driver's thighs. The mother
climbs on and struggles to find a balanced seating position on
while holding her three-year-old. When the driver acrobatically
jumps up in the air after hitting a polisi tidur -- not a
sleeping policeman but a speed bump -- her fingertips grope
wildly to snatch a piece of the ojeg driver's jacket.
The other day I ran into a fuming neighbor just back from the
pasar (traditional market) with two plastic bags in her left hand
and another two bulging with vegetables, fish and meat in her
right hand. I felt pity as I watched the beads of perspiration
drip down her face.
"What's the matter, Bu Titi?" I voiced my concern.
"What's the matter?!" she almost yelled, eyes popping. "Please
tell your husband's bosses that they better get those becak back.
They didn't think of us housewives when they decided to take the
becak off the road! Of course, they all own chauffeur-driven
luxury cars. Did they even think of us small people who have to
rely on becak and public transportation? Please tell your better
half. He's with the government, isn't he?" she asked with a
sneer.
I said I would though I doubted if my husband's opinion would
have any impact on Jakarta's big shots. In her anger, my neighbor
apparently forgot that my dear "better half" retired from the
civil service years ago.
Indeed, I mused, becak are a nuisance to the many cars on
Jakarta's roads. But why can't they be used in subdivisions or in
kampongs where they are a big help to those in need of quick,
easy and cheap transportation? For mothers to take their
youngsters to and from school, for housewives loaded with
groceries from the market and for those residing in non-exclusive
residential areas far from shopping areas, becak are the answer.
Take for instance a lansia like me, too afraid to take an ojeg
for fear of breaking my fragile bones! Especially since the roads
in most average neighborhoods are filled with bumps or potholes
bordering on craters. I recall the reluctance of a devout Moslem
lady who refused to sit behind an ojeg driver because she would
have to touch him.
Oh dear becak, how I miss you, especially in those areas where
public transportation is scarce. If you are considered a nuisance
or inhuman (for the drivers), why don't they mechanize these
vehicles and restrict them to special areas?
I once read that becak are being tried out in the Netherlands
because they reduce pollution and traffic congestion. I've also
read that some becaks were on display in Washington, D.C. Could I
have read mistakenly? A commodity abandoned in Indonesia has now
been willingly adopted by advanced countries?
Oh dear becak, how I miss you!