Peter Finekan, 20, was sitting in front of his relative’s low-cost apartment in the densely populated residential area of Muara Baru, North Jakarta, on Tuesday (11/6/2019). Peter had just finished writing a job application letter that he would send to a restaurant in North Jakarta.
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Peter Finekan, 20, was sitting in front of his relative’s low-cost apartment (indekos) in the densely populated residential area of Muara Baru, North Jakarta, on Tuesday (11/6/2019). Peter had just finished writing a job application letter that he would send to a restaurant in Pantai Indah Kapuk, North Jakarta.
The young adult from Kefamenanu, North Central Timor regency, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), had sent five job applications to various places. There is nothing special in his resume. Peter just relies on his school graduation certificates, without any other supporting documents as he has no professional experience.
“I have received no calls. My brother told me to be patient, as he knows many people. He says that I will find work, so he tells me to send more application letters,” Peter said.
Peter was attracted to follow his older brother to Jakarta because his brother earns Rp 4 million (US$280.16) a month. He also saw his brother’s new lifestyle when his brother visited their home town on holiday. Without thinking twice and with help from his parents, Peter departed for Jakarta on May 4.
Heavy burden
Peter’s reason for coming to Jakarta was exactly the same as that of Gebi Poen, 38, who was from Kupang, NTT, and has lived in Jakarta for 16 years. Having worked numerous jobs throughout the years, he said that his life had yet to change a lot from when he first came to the capital. Furthermore, now that he has a wife and two children, he needs to support them as well.
Gebi first came to Jakarta in 2003, with a borrowed Rp 5 million. In his first four months in the city, he was unemployed and lived with a relative in Muara Baru. Then he found work at a restaurant in Mangga Dua, West Jakarta, because his relative was close to the restaurant’s cook. “At first, I washed dishes and earned Rp 2 million a month,” he said. He now earns Rp 4.5 million a month as a cook, but he rents a home. After his two children started school, his expenses grew even more.
Gebi once spent eight months in prison in 2017, which he said was a dark time for him. At the time, he was working as a debt collector. However, when he was about to take a motorcycle he had just confiscated from someone who could not pay his arrears to a sales agency, he was arrested by the police. As it turned out, Gebi and his friends did not have official assignment letters from the motorcycle sales agency.
Stepping-stone
Of course, not all stories of people coming to Jakarta are bad. Idris, 40, from Makassar, now has two shops and a daily income of Rp 3 million. His net earnings are Rp 20 million a month.
When he first came to Jakarta in 1999, Idris worked as a coolie in a fish-processing factory at the Nizam Zachman Ocean Fishing Port for just Rp 2 million a month. From that amount, he saved Rp 500,000 each month. “After three years, with a savings of Rp 10 million, I tried to set up a food stall,” he said.
Similarly, Ragil Pamungkas had never thought he would become a successful businessman. The 29-year-old man now owns the Raja Bebek restaurant chain, which is famous for its fried duck and has seven branches in South Jakarta and South Tangerang. Ragil also has chicken and duck farms in Tegal, Pemalang, Brebes and Bogor. He supplies about 3,000 chickens and ducks to his and others’ restaurants. He achieved all of this in just the four years since he first came to the city.
He began his business of duck-farming in his home town in 2009. Slowly but surely, the farm grew. With six years of experience as a duck farmer, Ragil took the risk of expanding his business to Jakarta. His lofty dream involved not only supplying ducks to the city but also setting up restaurants. “If you want to go to Jakarta, you need reliable skills to live and earn money,” Ragil said.
From his achievements, he gained valuable lessons. Thorough plans are required if you want to migrate to Jakarta. Earning a livelihood requires not only a risk-taking spirit but also reliable skills, especially because dreams about Jakarta do not always end nicely.