Jakarta : There is Always to Complain About

courtesy of higienis.com

Few days ago Jakartanese has been alerted by the shocking news that Jakarta has the
world’s poorest air quality. Well, does it really shock you? Do not pretend that we are in
shock. A, when could we see Jakarta with a clear sky without those grey pollution
hanging all over it? B, have we done anything to mitigate it? C, though we have been
seeing trees planted along with those new pedestrians, somehow Jakarta is still at its
worse it terms of air quality.

Why so? Jakarta as the center of everything for Indonesia : it’s where business
happens, it’s where many industrial factories are located, it’s where entertainment
industries are, and whatnot. The city is exhausted with a never ending energy
consumption and in return awarded with an endless carbon prints.

Who’s to blame? All of us. We take taxi over public transport. We order gofood as
opposed to walking out of our comfortable kost-kostan (which is an exaggeration as it
alone deserves its own critique), we are 24 hours in an AC room, our electricity is
coal-based, what else? There are just too many of them.

If we think about it, “business as usual” is the core topic of this conversation. We both
blame and are aware of its irreplaceable value.

Business should not suffer just because we want a better air quality and environment as
a whole. What we should do is to change our business model. All this time business has
always been known as an activity that hopes to use capital at its bare minimum and
gain as much profit. It never cares about the damage it causes to the environment and
the people around it.

Now if we really want the human race to survive, which we do, we need to start
changing our business model. Gaining profit should not be the only priority. More
important than that, businesses need to put environmental and humanitarian cause in
their business goal. And of course government who is mandated by the people with
authority needs to ensure that there is a law that protects the environment, as it is
closely related with human’s well-being.

Let’s see it this way! Air quality is poor (an understatement) and people start to have
trouble with their breathing system and what it leads to is all sickness imaginable.
Marginal society will be the first to face the consequences: no access to health or if they

do they will be treated in such poor service or poor health facility. Eventually, all of us
will face the side effects of this environmental disaster.

What should we do?

1. Advocate (raise awareness on the issue),

2. Pressure government to make and regulate an environmentally-friendly law along
with providing integrated public transportation which uses
environmentally-friendly energy i.e., solar based., and regulate a premium
quality of waste management that ensures wastes are recycled and upcycled,

3. And start moving towards an environmentally-friendly lifestyle (use public
transport, minimize consumption and be more mindful in the production process
if you are a business person, and since our waste is still very very poorly
managed, we need to minimize the use of single use plastic.

As long as Jakarta still holds its status as the business capital of Indonesia, it will not
lose its charm. People will always come and try to make a living in it. Our job is to make
this home (temporary or permanent) less hostile and ensure than we stay alive amidst
its hostile environment.