JAKARTA has been recently dubbed as one of the most polluted cities in the world.
I couldn’t agree more. I’d had my fair share of living there for more than 10 years.
Though I’m so thankful for every single thing that Jakarta has offered me so far, I know it still has room of improvement.
But is it too late? I don’t know but the ecological problems that Jakarta has been facing for decades are not downsizing but it’s snowballing from time to time.
So it was an anomaly to see Coldplay, a band that shows very deep concern about environmental issues, agreed to perform live here in this ecologically destroyed capital of Indonesia.
Why Walking?
On the band’s Instagram account feed, Chris Martin proudly announced that he walked down the brutal Jakartan landscape. Humid and sweaty in this November where rain is supposed to be falling but the heat of El Nino dry season is still looming.
Of all ‘cool’ activities he could just choose to do in Jakarta, why walking barefoot?
Other celebrities uploaded updates of their rehearsals, or how they like the local cuisines, or just snapped a photo or two on their hotel roof tagged with a location showing they have landed and ready to perform the next day. I could tell this from the Corrs’ official Instagram content or maybe anoy other foreign performers.
Coldplay seemed to devise a plan before they created this Instagram post which has been liked by more than 1.5 million Insta users.
In my view, they chose to critique the government’s failure of providing a pedestrian facility that is proper enough for Jakartans. Chris could have walked around Rasuna Epicentrum (just 5-10 minutes walk from Setiabudi Reservoir) where things looked better and more organized. Wider pavements and lovely city design and great landscape just like what you can find anywhere but Jakarta. But he knew exactly that is private area and doesn’t reflect the real Jakarta.
On the second photo in the Instagram content above, Chris Martin tried walking barefoot around Setiabudi Reservoir.
How did I know this place? Because I told you before that I’d been living in this place for more than 10 years and this area is so familiar to me.
Subliminal Critique
It seemed normal for them but I think they deliberately chose this brutal and uncomfortable area as the background of their photos.
On the first photo where Chris crossed the bridge near Sudirman Park development, you can still see a line of trees, which is good and ‘green’.
Through this photo, I guess their subliminal message is: “Way to go Jakarta! You’ve planted trees around the city but the cars and motorbikes are just way too many to handle for these trees. Probably you all should walk (or bike?) more and drive less!”
This also a critique aimed at Jakartans who mostly rely on motorbikes and cars to travel around the city. They take public transportation of course but not the majority. Why? Because the public transportation like Jak Lingko is not efficient enough to get their destinations in the shortest time. It is unpredictable and unpunctual despite the low fare.
On the second photo, you can see Chris voluntarily walked on a macadam road just beside Setiabudi Reservoir, an old water reservoir that was built by the Dutch.
Here I tried to decipher the subliminal message: “This area should be better managed. It has trees around it and even a body of water that can cool the city down but people don’t want to walk around it or hang out around this place because they can’t found a proper pavement or some benches to just sit down or do pushups or situps after jogging or brisk walk session.”
Why do I think this is a critique of Jakarta Government? Because it shows their ignorance of pedestrian rights.
The city seemed to built exclusively for the convenience of motorbikers and car owners. It is no fun for pedestrian. Only fumes and heat. Trees are there but ridiculously humans must also compete with trees just to walk comfortably and safely. The government just doesn’t have that strong commitment to investing in pedestrian walk or pavement. It’s all lanes for buses, cars and motorbikes. Bikes to work campaign just won’t work massively because admit it, who is thoughtless enough and willing to put their health at stake to bike and inhale the polluted air?
But of course this critique is too subtle for the ignorant bureaucrats and policy makers.
Jakarta is for those who work, and work, and work. It is not meant for humans who want to live their lives to their fullest.
The fact that they built a new capital simply shows the desperation of recovering the ailing Jakarta. And that is saddening. Because IKN in Borneo may have the same fate as Jakarta’s some time in the future if this nation never wants to learn and improve from past mistakes. (*/)
