Prices rise, life gets harder for Jakartans

JAKARTA (JP): With the price hikes in fuel, electricity, telephone rates and staple foods, residents find living in the city increasingly difficult, and most have yet to find any relief from the economic crisis.

The staggering level of unemployment has raised concerns about crime, while job vacancies have grown scant due to the economic slowdown.

The government will announce the fuel price next week, while electricity rates, as well as telephone rates, have already experienced a 15 percent increase.

Nevertheless, people in Jakarta have remained resilient, as some resort to the mind-set that life in the big city will never be easy.

They, however, wish that there was something the government could do to forebear, if not lessen, the burden on their shoulders, as things are already difficult as they are, without the latest set of price increases.

"I'm aware of the consequences of living in a city like Jakarta. The living costs are inevitably more expensive than in smaller towns. But it appears to me that the government is not even trying to make the lives of the general public any easier," said Arifin, a private company employee.

On Saturday, he was accompanying his wife to buy rice and other food at Mayestic market in South Jakarta.

"The fuel price hike, like in the past, is a trigger for other price increases, while our income remains stagnant," he added.

Even before the fuel price hike is formally announced, the price of rice has risen by about 12 percent, as well as cooking oil and sugar.

Vendors predict more price hikes on staple foods, when the government officiates the rate increase.

"If suppliers increase their prices, I will have to follow suit. But even now, my customers are complaining to me about the price of rice as if it was my fault that rice is expensive these days," said Ramini, who runs a foodstall at the market.

"For the past few days, I have had housewives expressing their anger to me after they have learned about the new prices and some have even left my store without purchasing anything," she said, adding that some of her customers had begun to purchase less.

"I suppose in this condition, people are more careful with their spending. But, because people always need rice, they will still buy it despite the price." she assessed.

A snack vendor at Senen market, Central Jakarta, is now skeptical about whether people will still be buying snacks. He raised the price of snacks from Rp 100 to Rp 150, with a possible raise in the near future.

"If I don't increase the price, I won't make any profit. Meanwhile, the price of the ingredients has risen," said Sabil Hassanudin who came from Aceh six months ago to try his luck in the city.

"If things get worse, I will probably consider returning to Aceh," Sabil said.

"Living in Jakarta is expensive. I think people who come to live in this city bear that in mind. Those who can't handle the pressure are better off in their hometowns," reasoned Ramini, the foodstall owner.

"But then, the fuel and electricity price hikes have been imposed nationwide... so it's the same everywhere," she added, realizing that there is nowhere to go in this country to evade the situation.

Polin, a school teacher in Pamulang, Tangerang, decried the increasing prices, saying the government should take the necessary measures to ease the heavy costs carried by the public.

"Look, we've been troubled by the worsening security condition and political instability. And now this, the price increase. Why have they done this? Is it their job just to trouble us?," he asserted.