JAKARTA – Mr Andri Prihatin has been patiently unloading sacks of rice and bottled water in the past week at a neighbourhood grocery store in Jakarta, leaving behind his wife and two toddlers nearly 300km away, in search of a better life for his family.
The former worker at a tofu factory in Tegal in Central Java province aims to find a permanent job as a shop assistant, and perhaps further down the road, open a roadside stall selling fried catfish.
“At the tofu factory, I was paid daily, so the money never lasted. But in Jakarta, I usually get paid monthly, so I can actually save,” Mr Andri, 30, told The Straits Times. He was paid 70,000 rupiah daily (S$5.50) in his home town, while in Jakarta he could earn 1.5 million rupiah for 20 days of work a month, or 75,000 rupiah a day.
Mr Andri is one of thousands of “perantau” – newcomers – from rural areas looking for jobs in the capital city and its surrounding cities. They typically head into Jakarta after Lebaran, as Hari Raya Aidilfitri is known in Indonesia, by hitching a ride with their relatives who are returning to Greater Jakarta.
The rural-to-city movements are closely monitored by the authorities in the Big Durian – what Jakarta is affectionately called by its residents – as officials need to plan for the annual arrivals, which could strain housing and job availability.
The Jakarta provincial government has recorded a decreasing trend in post-Raya holiday arrivals for the past three years, with 27,478 people in 2022, 25,918 in 2023, and 16,207 in 2024. The 2025 figure for the reverse-flow of people returning from Raya celebrations in their home town outside the capital has not been tallied.
The drop in reported arrivals stems from low public awareness about self-registration, as well as a growing preference for settling in satellite cities within the Greater Jakarta area, said Mr Budi Awaluddin, head of Jakarta’s population and civil registration office.
Those who self-register are given preference for skills enhancement programmes at community training centres, and gain access to healthcare, educational services and social assistance for long-term stay.
While the Special Region of Jakarta, or DKI – comprising the core of the capital city – had a population of nearly 11 million people in 2024, its surrounding satellite cities are home to roughly eight million more people. These are the cities of Bogor, Depok, Tangerang and Bekasi.
“People have other options now besides Jakarta,” Mr Budi told The Straits Times during an interview at his office in Jakarta City Hall complex, pointing to the more affordable cost of living and rapid development in these suburban areas.
Said another newcomer, Ms Fitri Yana, 28: “I feel sad at having to leave my home town in Panakkukang, but I secured a permanent job in Jakarta that aligns with my undergraduate degree.
“On top of that, my salary here is double what I used to earn through sales commission in Sulawesi.”
Ms Fitri has lived in Jakarta for three years, working as an economic researcher at a consultancy. She can bring home a monthly pay of around eight million rupiah, double that of her previous job as a supervisor at a study platform in Makassar, the capital of South Sulawesi.
Jakarta grapples with homelessness, including “manusia gerobak” (cart dwellers), who sleep by their makeshift carts and make a living by collecting used items and goods for resale.ST PHOTO: STANIA PUSPAWARDHANI
She initially rented a small single-bedroom unit near her office in South Jakarta, but last year, she moved into a modest company-provided house used as an employee dormitory.
Jakarta Governor Pramono Anung, who took office on Feb 20, said the capital city continues to welcome newcomers and will not expel the economic migrants.
In the past, the city authorities conducted what they call Yustisi Operations, derived from the word “justice”, to enforce regulations on migrants, particularly during public health emergencies and post-Hari Raya arrivals.
This was done to control the influx of newcomers, citing overpopulation concerns. But the crackdowns were discontinued from 2018 under the governorship of Anies Baswedan.
Said Mr Pramono at City Hall on April 8, the first working day after the Lebaran holiday: “We will not conduct Yustisi Operations. Our approach is administrative registration. Every newcomer must have a population administration number from their place of origin. That’s the only requirement; we just need to ensure everyone has proper identification. Then they are free to seek jobs in Jakarta.”
As at 2024, Jakarta’s unemployment stands at 337,992 people, according to the city’s Statistics Agency, with a decreasing trend since 2020.
To support incoming residents, Mr Pramono said the Jakarta administration is offering access to vocational training centres and community halls at the sub-district level, where newcomers can gain new skills. The free upskilling courses offer lessons in cooking, simple electrical repairs and carpentry, and training to be caregivers.
Urban planning expert Nirwono Joga said that those new to Jakarta must equip themselves with two key assets: competence and connections.
“If those who arrive have low competence – such as an education level below high school – it places a greater burden on the Jakarta government,” Mr Nirwono told ST. “The government then has to step in to upgrade their skills so they can meet market demand.”
Data from Jakarta’s population and civil registration office shows that over the past four years, 82.57 per cent of post-Hari Raya newcomers have only a high school-level education. Of those surveyed, 60.43 per cent are classified as low income workers, with 21.83 per cent living in slum areas.
The Big Durian faces longstanding urban challenges, especially overpopulation. Its nearly 11 million residents live in an area of just 664 sq km – Singapore’s land size is about 730 sq km. According to the Jakarta Statistics Agency, the population rose from 9.97 million in 2013 to 10.67 million in 2023, a 7 per cent increase within a decade.
“The city’s urban density is extremely high, with around 17,000 people per square kilometre,” said Mr Budi, from Jakarta’s population and civil registration office.
According to the Global Human Settlement Layer by the European Commission, the population density threshold for an urban centre is 1,500 people per sq km.
Overpopulation was one of the key factors that led former President Joko Widodo to initiate the relocation of Indonesia’s capital to Nusantara in East Kalimantan.
Mr Andri Prihatin, 30, is a newcomer in Jakarta, hoping to secure a better future.ST PHOTO: STANIA PUSPAWARDHANI
Jakarta is also grappling with homelessness, particularly among informal workers known as “cart dwellers” (manusia gerobak, in Bahasa Indonesia), individuals who live and scavenge using makeshift carts. During the Covid-19 pandemic, their numbers surged as many lost jobs and were pushed into informal labour.
Despite these challenges, Jakarta is pushing forward with its vision of becoming a “global city” as it prepares to celebrate its 500th anniversary in 2027.
The hopes of newcomers to the Big Durian are perhaps exemplified by Mr Abdul Bari, 53, general manager at PT Antam, a partially state-owned mining company.
Originally from Banyuwangi in East Java province, Mr Abdul began working in Jakarta in 1996, shortly after earning a degree in geological engineering from a top university in Bandung. In 2015, he moved to Jakarta’s satellite city of Bekasi, where he steadily climbed the corporate ladder at the company.
Mr Abdul credits his home town’s organisation in Jakarta, the Banyuwangi Family Association, for uniting the diaspora. Founded 50 years ago, the association has about 3,000 members in Jakarta alone.
“We always engage with and support our junior colleagues from Banyuwangi who are new to Jakarta, whether it’s through job networking, community gathering or even financial assistance,” he told ST.
For Mr Andri, the shop assistant who arrived in Jakarta just a week ago, the challenge he faces will be steeper as he has only a primary school certificate.
“It will be a long slog, but I must succeed for the sake of my two kids back in Tegal,” he said.
This is his second try at making it in Jakarta, after a stint as a motorcycle-taxi driver in 2016 and 2017. He was forced to return to his home town when his motorcycle was stolen.
- Stania Puspawardhani is Indonesia correspondent for The Straits Times based in Jakarta.
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