Proud Bugis survives in old Sunda Kelapa port

By Deborah P. Hutauruk

JAKARTA (JP): For skinny, dark-skinned Jamal, ferrying a few passengers in his own sampan around the heavily polluted and smelly estuary near the old colonial port of Sunda Kelapa is a much better job than working on a big fishing boat.

In his sampan he is both helmsman and captain.

Jamal, 45, is a boatman who ferries people from the port to a fish market on the opposite side. Sometimes, he rows his six- meter-long sampan, with tourists in it, to where the magnificent pinisi, or typical Bugis wooden sailing ships, are moored in the North Jakarta seaport.

"Let me take you around Sunda Kelapa port and show you the beautiful ships," he offers tourists whenever he sees them coming to the port gate. The port is a historical place and a means of survival for Jamal and his fellow boatmen.

For an hour's row, he usually charges Rp 15,000 (US$6.50), but one sunny day last month he was bargained down to Rp 10,000.

"Well, I'll take it, but I won't take you to the quarantine ward. It's too far and you'd have to pay me more," Jamal said as he led us, a group of journalists, to the boatyard where his green sampan was tied up. A few other colorful boats were also moored near the entrance gate of the port.

"This section of the port is a remnant of colonial times, but it's now mainly used for unloading logs," Jamal explained as we approached the port, which is usually packed with the pinisi ships.

"All the sampans here ferry people to the fish market or take tourists around this historical port," he said.

Jamal told The Jakarta Post that he began ferrying people after he quit working on a Taiwanese fishing boat three years ago.

He said he hated the long hours spent hunting and catching tuna in the wide open sea.

He then built his sampan, made of local meranti hardwood, so that he could spend more time with his family.

"So I made this boat, which can accommodate up to 10 people, with my buddies. It cost me Rp 350,000," he added.

On the average he earns Rp 10,000 a day. During peak seasons, he can earn even more, but there are times when he gets less money or even goes home empty-handed.

Born in Bone, South Sulawesi, Jamal is proud of being a Bugis, an ethnic group known for their seafaring ways. His love and pride for his hometown was obvious when he chatted loudly in a Bugis dialect with the pinisi crew, as we glided slowly in between some of the six-meter high and single-masted traditional ships.

"Most boatmen here live in very poor conditions. Just ferrying people to the fish market will not make ends meet," he said. "Do you know how much we get from each person we ferry to the fish market? Only Rp 200!"

During slow periods, when there are only a few passengers to ferry, Jamal makes wooden models of pinisi ships which he sells for Rp 40,000 to Rp 50,000, depending on the size.

He started making the miniature ships two years ago when he realized he needed a side job along with ferrying people.

"It takes me at least three, full days to make a miniature ship," he said as he showed us his latest handiwork. His eyes shone brightly when he saw how we admired the model ship.

Despite all the hard work, Jamal said that he was happier now than he had been before when he was working on the Taiwanese fishing boat. He had more time to spend with his family.

"I have a wife and two kids. The eldest, an elementary school student, is nine years old," Jamal said, adding that he had to pay Rp 400,000 a year for a shed near the port. "Thank God, I'm still surviving," he exclaimed.

Jamal is one of many boatmen in Sunda Kelapa who had heard of city plans to convert slum areas into appealing tourist attractions to help generate income for boatmen and their families. The plan would also concentrate on the restoration of the port area and the historical remnants there.

At present, with no tourist information center nearby and dirty surroundings -- not to mention the dozens of trucks that are either being loaded or unloaded with cargo -- most tourists would understandably feel discouraged to visit the port.

But of the municipality's plan to reinvigorate the north coast to boost tourism industry there, Jamal could only remark, "We like the idea, but when?"