“The Important Thing is to Be Able to Eat Today First”, The Reality of Tambora Residents Surviving Amid Slum Conditions
JAKARTA - The dense and slum-like settlement conditions in Tambora subdistrict, West Jakarta, are inseparable from the economic realities of residents who are preoccupied with daily survival.
Tambora Camat Pangestu Aji stated that many residents in his area struggle to consider improving their living environment because their primary focus is meeting daily needs.
“They are traders, parents, and all sorts. So, thinking about improvements is already difficult; the important thing is to think about how to manage today, tomorrow, and the future is tough—first, how about today,” said Pangestu when met by Kompas.com on Thursday (7/5/2026).
According to Pangestu, this issue exacerbates the settlement conditions in Tambora, which is currently one of the areas with the highest number of slum neighbourhoods (RW) in Jakarta.
He noted that around 40 percent of Tambora residents are still in the lower-middle economic group. Some do not even have stable jobs.
“However, there are indeed many limitations here, both in terms of economy—please understand, around 40 percent are still lower-middle economy. Sometimes they still haven’t found work,” said Pangestu.
Pangestu explained that this situation forces residents to share living spaces extremely in narrow, densely built alleys.
“Looking at their habits, one house for one family consists of several households (KK), and sleeping might be up to three shifts, taking turns,” he revealed.
Based on Jakarta Provincial Regulation No. 33 of 2024, eight out of 11 villages in Tambora subdistrict are still categorised as slum areas.
These areas include Kalianyar, Duri Selatan, Tanah Sereal, Krendang, Jembatan Besi, Angke, Jembatan Lima, and Pekojan villages.
He recalled how the living environment in his area was not as dense as it is now. However, the continuous accumulation of buildings has increasingly blocked sunlight access.
“It wasn’t as dense as this before,” said Mak Junaiyah.
Her house has even been affected twice by major fires in 1998 and 2016.