Taman Puring market a haven for the jobless

By Ivy Susianti

JAKARTA (JP): Fifty-seven-year-old Tarmidi lost his job in October last year after working for a cleaning service company in South Jakarta for four years.

After his dismissal he was constantly worried about how he would support his family, how he would pay the rent and how he would pay for daily essentials.

"I had to feed my wife and six children," said Tarmidi, a resident of Jl. Wijaya in Petogogan subdistrict, South Jakarta.

After being dismissed, Tarmidi worked as a part-time cleaner at the subdistrict office for a few months. Some of his children have had jobs too, but he claimed their collective earnings were not enough to make ends meet.

In March, Tarmidi heard that the Kebayoran Baru district head would provide space for dismissed workers in Taman Puring, a park near Blok M commercial area, to sell wares.

He then set up shop at the Pasar Tunggu (Pasar Sabtu-Minggu), or weekend market, to earn money to support his family.

"I have to earn extra money because the collective earnings in the family are no longer adequate. I still have to pay my house rent," he said.

Tarmidi sells secondhand electrical appliances which belong to his neighbors.

The market was established at the initiative of South Jakarta Mayor Pardjoko to provide business space to people who recently lost their jobs due to the economic crisis. It opens from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends.

Taman Puring is among 48 locations in South Jakarta earmarked for such markets.

Blue tents have been set up along the 122.5-square-meter-long sidewalk around the park to shelter about 20 vendors, who mostly sell home appliances.

Noorzaman Ischak, the local district head, said the market would be maintained until the economy was out of the doldrums.

"We offer the unemployed job opportunities here. But certainly not all of them can rely on this market for their livelihood. They may do business here until they get new jobs or start another business," he said.

The vendors are not required to pay any tax and the retail space is available only to those who have references from their former employers.

"A huge number of dismissed employees have registered to open business at the weekend market but it's impossible to admit them all. As a solution, we will admit only three people from each subdistrict," he said.

To attract visitors to the market, the administration pays kuda lumping (rattan horse) and topeng monyet (monkey mask) traditional dancers and street singers to perform there.

"We hire the less-popular groups. The kuda lumping dancers who performed here in previous weeks were mostly students and district office cleaners," deputy district head Sutarno said.

The market has attracted many visitors, although many of them just window-shop or enjoy the cultural attractions.

One of the main reasons for their reluctance to buy things at the market is that the vendors do not offer warranties on any of their goods.

Yulianto, 42, a vendor from the Kramat Pela subdistrict, said he fully guaranteed his merchandise. He also demonstrates how well his appliances work to prospective buyers.

"If you buy something and you find it does not work well when you get home, we will return your money," said Yulianto, who was dismissed from a coal company on Jl. Bangka Raya in South Jakarta in January.

Although the market is located in a public park where people, especially students, usually hang about, business is often slow.

Tarmidi said his neighbors gave him Rp 25,000 (US$3.10) several weeks ago as a commission for selling their electrical appliances, including clocks and small fans.

He is now waiting for someone to buy his radio and stereo set worth Rp 200,000 and RP 300,000 respectively.

Yulianto claimed he could earn up to Rp 595,000 a day at the market.

"I received these goods from friends who were also dismissed from their jobs but they are not courageous enough to start business here," he said.

"If I sell the goods, I'm given cash. They decide on the amount," he said.