'Ojek' ride can be bit scary but is cheaper and faster

OTHER than feeling a bit under the weather in my second week of Jakarta, the lively city has welcomed me yet again with red and white flags being put up by its citizens in celebrations of Indonesia's 62 years of independence all over the place.

The national day brought together the country's diverse culture and ethnicities celebrating in their own way and rituals throughout the country's province and islands. Speeches, ceremonies and games were held throughout all levels of communities.

It is an interesting experience observing a democratic country celebrates its independence whereby since 945, opinions by people here through the media still question the country's position and stability as well as highlighting key issues that contribute it.

Growing up in Brunei, where issues such as poverty and unemployment are not apparent, learning and witnessing a country's situation makes me appreciate further our country's stability and peace.

It was stated that although it was one of the first nations in this part of the world to achieve liberation from European colonialism, bad leadership and poor management have been described as some of the contributing factors.

In other said that poverty and unemployment were the key issues to be addressed upon. In a news article it was mentioned that Indonesia is known internationally to be among the most corrupt countries as well as contributors to the destruction of global environment.

The effects of experiencing the poverty here widens by gratitude for the life I live in. One experience I had in the middle of the week was during my first 'ojek' ride. An 'ojek' is another form of transportation here by motorbike.

On the motorbike with a helmet provided by the driver on the way to my destination we were stopped at a red light at a junction. As we were positioned at the front of the line, looking around me I observed a group of children each of them approaching cars and motorbikes asking for money. The eldest girl was no more than 12 years old whilst the younger boys were between six and seven years of age. A little tanned skin boy, with a chubby round face, no more than six years old came and tugged at my pants. Looking at me with teary eyes, scruffy face and worn out clothing I gave him some money. This was followed by the other children approaching the bike I was on.

These motorists who acts as taxi drivers charge a lesser amount from taxi fares and through what I experienced, with the traffic jams here it gets you to your destination faster. It was also indeed scary though where, whilst holding on to the bike you are in amidst literally among the other cars and forms of transportation on Jakarta's busy roads.

Though in Brunei, you do see young children peddling food goods from home coming into restaurants and approaching strangers, the number of the children you see begging and roaming the streets here are numerous, on some days I have also seen mothers cradling their babies on cloths tied between two posts around the streets.

Another encounter I observed so far was during my stay were during the after work peak hours. On the way back from lecture sessions, I was curious to see lines of a wide range people such as older street children, mothers and babies making signals to cars. I soon found out that these called 'jockeys' where they are offering their services in such a way for drivers on the road to avoid the three in one rule. During the peak hours certain roads have rules where cars with three passengers are allowed to drive through. The 'jockeys' would offer to be brought into the car as a passenger for a small fee. Street children are also one of the problems here. It is heartbreaking to see children as small as my own siblings do this everyday to earn a living. In an article about curbing the spread of HIV/Aids among the street children recently reported, it was the children who were also among the highest at-risk in Indonesia as many of them end up being involved in promiscuous sexual behaviour as well as injecting drugs. It was founded that most of the children were involved in drug abuse and prostitution but few knew the dangers and consequences. An NGO dealing with HIV/Aids problems said that more than 90 per cent of the street children in Jakarta are HIV positive.

The Brunei Times