SMS takes over the place of traditional Idul Fitri cards

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Even while awaiting her turn for sungkeman (a Javanese tradition to show respect by kneeling down) and apologizing to her elders for the mistakes of the past year, Rima was busy sending text messages to her friends. The employee of a private company in Central Jakarta, could not help but laugh when she received a humorous message, despite the solemnity of the occasion.

During the family gathering for Idul Fitri, Rima and her relatives did not just talk, exchange greetings and eat ketupat (rice cakes served with side dishes). They all had their cell phones in hand, ready to send or reply to messages.

"It's practical, it's instant and it's cheap," Rima argued.

"No need for stamps, no need to queue at the post office and no need to buy greeting cards," she said, adding that she received more than 80 messages on Thursday alone.

Indeed, sending Idul Fitri text messages, which, as is the custom, often include an apology for any wrongdoings intentionally or unintentionally committed over the past year, has become the norm here.

At a cost of between Rp 150 (1.5 U.S. cents) and Rp 300 per message -- depending on the cellular phone operator and the services offered (pre-paid or post-paid) -- short text messaging comes at a fraction of the cost of buying and sending greeting cards.

By numbers, the trend is proving to be true. Last year, short text messages sent during the Nov. 14 to Nov. 15 Idul Fitri holiday nearly doubled from the number sent in 2003.

The country's largest cellular operator PT Telkomsel, for example, recorded 87 million short text messages sent through its network during last year's first day of Idul Fitri, as compared to some 40 million the year before. Telkomsel also saw 72.5 million short text messages sent on last year's Idul Fitri eve and 50 million the day after Idul Fitri.

Similarly, PT Indosat and PT Excelcomindo Pratama, the second- and third-largest cellular operators, both saw an average of some 50 million short text messages being passed through their networks during Idul Fitri last year.

The number of text messages sent during this year's Idul Fitri holiday, which fell on Nov. 3 and Nov. 4, is expected to have increased again, with the operators upgrading their networks' capacities in anticipation of the trend.

Similar activity is expected during the upcoming Christmas and New Year's holidays.

Indosat, for example, had previously said it had increased its short text message handling capacity by five times more than its usual 36 million messages a day for the holiday.

Meanwhile, from a socio-cultural point of view, the trend of sending Idul Fitri greetings via text message was seen by observers as not unusual in the wake of technological advancement.

The chairman of the nation's second-largest Muslim organization Muhammadiyah, Din Syamsudin, was quoted by Antara as saying that the service was a blessing for many, especially those whom distance kept apart at Idul Fitri.

"There is nothing wrong with exchanging Idul Fitri greetings through SMS. What matters is the sincerity of the greeting," he said.

Din, however, said if circumstances allowed for it greetings were best conveyed in person.

"To greet somebody by reaching out to clasp their hand is a reflection of the heart reaching out," he said.