Kendaraan terjebak kemacetan panjang di jalan tol Jakarta-Cikampek dari kilometer 33 hingga kilometer 60 pada H+1 Lebaran, Senin (26/6). Kemacetan diduga karena mobilitas masyarakat untuk berilaturahim dan liburan ditambah mereka yang baru berangkat mudik setelah Lebaran.
Idul Fitri has just passed. The most noticeable signs of this are the abandoned streets in the middle of Jakarta and entertainment venues crowded with visitors.
The homecoming is a ritual for most Indonesian people. The celebration of Idul Fitri is marked by the busiest travel time of the year. The ritual involves gathering with the family and enjoying the typical food of each region, while showing off one’s success in life away from home.
Until about ten years ago, the term homecoming still carried the meaning of traditional kampongs with rural activities and agriculture in the broad sense as a dominant characteristic. Now, the boundaries between villages or kampongs and the cities are increasingly diffuse, especially in Java. The Central Statistics Agency noted that in 2015 about 53.3 percent of the population lived in urban areas.
If the city is defined as an area with modern facilities, starting from schools, hospitals, banks, community health centers or medical clinics to at least 10 adjacent stores and factories, then cities of small to large scale are all that is visible along the main roads from the western end of Java to the east.
Even though there has been a transformation from villages to cities and the economy toward industry and modern services, the homecoming from the economic side is considered a transfer of prosperity from the cities to villages. Unfortunately, it only happens once a year, albeit in large numbers. Bank Indonesia estimated the money supply during Lebaran (post-Idul Fitri festivity) at Rp 646 trillion, up 35 percent from the normal level of Rp 479 trillion.
Even though macro data show the economy is growing well, including the rising money supply during Lebaran and stable food prices, micro data show that not all are convinced about the improving economy. Sales of motorcycles in early June, for example, were down from a year ago. One of the reasons for this is the removal of subsidies for 900 VA power customers, who are considered to be too well-off to be eligible.
The above situation reminds us about welfare inequality, which has to be resolved. Various studies show that, even though the per-capita income of the Indonesian people is increasing, the rich are getting richer much faster than the lower-middle class people, which is making it hard to close the gap.
The millennium generation, people born between 1980 and the year 2000, face problems with quality job opportunities and their sustainability, because the economic growth creates only 200,000 new jobs.
Therefore, the Lebaran momentum is a reminder for leaders of this country that there is still an acute problem that must be resolved, namely to achieve equitable distribution of prosperity. The homecoming tradition transfers prosperity from big cities to small towns or villages, but for the sake of sustainability, it is necessary to devise a comprehensive, qualified policy.
