Sorrowful state of Tanah Abang

· 5 minutes read

Heri Hermawan, 27, is sad. Shirtless and pensive, he sat in the deserted Tasik Cideng Market with a dull gaze. He forced a smile when someone approached him.

The sadness of the porter is understandable. Heri has only Rp 50,000 left in his pocket, only enough for a day’s meals. His wife and two children are waiting for him at home.

"What can I do? I’m confused because I can’t work. I’m stressed because I can\'t earn any money. The demonstration has left us ‘little people’ in difficulty," Heri said on Thursday (5/23/2019).

Tasik Cideng Market is located on Jl. Cideng Timur Raya in Tanah Abang, Central Jakarta. The wholesale garment market used to be bustling with clothing suppliers – most of who supply robes from Tasikmalaya, West Java, and some suppliers from Greater Jakarta – who met with their buyers.

They suppliers sell their goods from their cars, from 4:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Mondays and Thursdays only. Once the suppliers arrive at the market, they throw open the doors of their cars, ready to welcome buyers at their “mobile kiosk”. The sellers obtain the garments directly from the manufacturer so they are generally cheaper, and their prices are often used as a benchmark for large traders and retailers.

The wholesale market is the source of livelihood for manual laborers like Heri, who said he could earn Rp 300,000 for every three cars he unloaded at the market.

From Wednesday evening to early Thursday morning, the man from Rangkasbitung, Banten, and the other porters overnighted at a mess hall in the market complex. They usually rest until transactions begin early in the morning.

Unfortunately, Heri did not earn even a single rupiah on Thursday. The management closed the market because of Wednesday’s riots in Tanah Abang.

"I am poor. I lost money because of yesterday\'s [riots]. How can I make a living? " he asked.

Thousands of people aside from Heri also depend on Tasik market for their livelihoods, from traders to buyers to porters and to ojek (motorcycle taxi) drivers.

"The market is closed because the management is not willing to risk it. You know yourself, right, that the mass [riot] was anarchistic. The traders and buyers [suffer] when something [like this] happens," said Jamaluddin, 40, a security guard at the market.

Jamaluddin said the market would reopen in a week on May 30. The management had notified all traders of the market’s closure through a WhatsApp group. The traders protested, but in the end, they accepted the decision after they saw the riots on television.

The buyers who came to the market on Wednesday were shocked to see the deserted market and eventually went home with disappointment on their faces.

M. Agus, 46, for example, had planned to refill his stock at his kiosk in Grogol market, as the shopping season ahead of Idul Fitri was an opportunity to increase his income.

"The stocks at my kiosk has run out and I can\'t trade. I’ve had to stop trading for two days. Initially I wanted to purchase any goods I could get my hands on, just so I could reopen for trade," he said.

Aside from Jakarta, many buyers come from Sulawesi, Kalimantan and Sumatra. Regular customers from the Philippines and Malaysia also shop at the markets in Tanah Abang.

A Malaysian national expressed regret at the temporary closure of Tasik market, adding that the garments from Tasik market were in high demand back home.

"The models [clothing styles] from Indonesia are unique. The prices are the same, but the [style] is different. The quality of the fabric and stitching is also good. The women in my country like the designs of Indonesian garments," said the Malaysia customer.

The customer added that he visited Tasik market two to three times a month to purchase 60-70 clothing items. "I hope the situation in Indonesia will be fine."

Unsold

Traders that have kept their shops open in Tanah Abang are biting their fingernails because the number of customers dropped suddenly and sharply.

Abdulah, 45, a garment trader who trades in front of Blok B at Tasik market, planned to open a stall to make money for celebrating Idul Fitri. He had not traded for two days and suffered losses of Rp 3 million to Rp 4 million. He only sold two housedresses for Rp 100,000 each during half a day of trading yesterday.

Blocks A, B, C and G of the Tanah Abang market complex were still closed on Thursday afternoon.

Arief Nasrudin, the president director of city-owned market operator Pasar Jaya, confirmed that the markets in Tanah Abang were closed from Wednesday to Thursday. A total of 14,000 traders had been affected, and the market complex incurred losses of more than Rp 400 billion over the two days it was closed at more than Rp 200 billion in average daily sales.

Indonesian Textile Association chairman Ade Sudrajat said that the temporary closure of the Tanah Abang market complex had incurred potential losses of Rp 360 billion for traders. The situation had also caused stocks of ready-to-wear clothing to pile up at textile warehouses in Bandung, Purwakarta and Tasikmalaya.

Jakarta Chamber of Commerce and Industry deputy chair Sarman Simanjorang expected losses to reach Rp 1 trillion to Rp 1.5 trillion due to the trading paralysis in Jakarta.

(PINGKAN ELITA DUNDU/FRANSISKUS WISNU WARDHANA DHANY/BENEDIKTUS KRISNA YOGATAMA)

Editor:

kompascetak