'She turns a deaf ear to people's protests'

Amid mounting public criticism over the government's plan to raise fuel, electricity and telephone rates, President Megawati Soekarnoputri has called on the entire population to tighten their belts so that Indonesia can escape its debt trap and become more financially independent. The Jakarta Post talked with some urban residents about the President's call.

Darwanti, 36, is a mother of two children who has been working as a street sweeper for years. She lives in Kemanggisan, West Jakarta with her family:

People who earn a low income such as myself do not really know much about the government's activities, let alone the President's.

I don't really care what President Megawati said recently about how people should deal with the price increases.

It would not affect my life if she maintained her policies or if she were to step down. The only thing that matters to me is getting the skyrocketing prices of food back down to a level of affordability.

She tells us to lead a modest lifestyle, but I'm sure she does not know how to live as modestly as the poor have to.

The only thing I think about is having to work hard and diligently, otherwise, I will not get paid my Rp 13,000 a day.

I bring home Rp 340,000 a month. With that money, I have to finance my eldest's education. Sometimes, my pay is not enough to cover all our needs. So in the morning I usually sell pins, hair combs, hair pins and the like to earn an extra income. My husband does not have a job, so I'm the breadwinner of the family.

Pelo, 31, is unemployed and resides with his daughter and wife in Utan Kayu, East Jakarta:

Megawati should not have said what she did in that way. The majority of low-income earners have been living under the poverty line for a long time.

Even without Megawati's call to live modestly, they have done it every day through numerous years of hardship. Her speech was meaningless. She was simply trying to impress people that she was siding with the poor.

If she was a respectable leader, she would have addressed her call to the rich and high-ranking officials of this country. They need to learn how to live modestly and tighten their belts because they have never known what it is like to live in poverty.

She should have called for the high-ranking officials to try hard to improve the national economy.

I think low-income people have heard these calls too often. We are fed up with the government's empty words on how to cope with the situation. We need real action from the government and the President to fix the crisis.

Didi, 31, is a security officer who works at a private company in Cikini, Central Jakarta. He resides in Depok with his wife and two children:

President Megawati's call to live modestly makes no sense to me.

I wonder how a notable leader can even say these words when people are in agony wondering how they will be able to meet the expenses brought on by the higher prices.

Most people have been living in rough conditions. What kind of simple life is she asking us to follow?

My income is only Rp 450,000 a month. Rent is Rp 150,000, but I'm sure that will increase sooner or later. My electricity bill is Rp 50,000 a month. In addition, daily transportation costs Rp 5,000 a day. I'm not able to put any money away. What about milk for my children?

Luckily, my wife also works, and with the money she earns at the garment factory she can help support the family.

Can Megawati understand this situation? Her promise to side with the poor is pure garbage. She is no longer credible to the poor.

Suparman, 52, is a guard at the railway crossing in Palmerah, West Jakarta. He resides in Kebayoran Lama, South Jakarta with his wife and two children:

It is a slap in the face for President Megawati to tell the poor to tighten their belts.

Those of us who earn a low income have already been living a less than modest lifestyle. Is there any other kind of way to live below the poverty line?

I can understand that the government had to raise the fuel prices and electricity rates, but their timing is all wrong.

She should have been wiser, but instead she turned a deaf ear to people's protests.

I have to spend Rp 400,000 a month on rent, electricity and the telephone. To help the family get by, my wife works as a tailor.

If she were not able to help out, I don't think I would be able to afford the rising price of food, which has been a consequence of these price hikes.

Megawati has never had to live in these extreme conditions. That's why she demanded us to tighten our belts.