Jakarta Celebrates Its Anniversary

Jakarta has just celebrated its 484 years of its anniversary marked by the opening of the Jakarta Fair. The city got the honor from the President of the Republic, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who officially opened the Jakarta Fair on June 09 as the mark of the anniversary. Since it was initiated by Governor Ali Sadikin in 1967 the Jakarta Fair grew bigger and promoted more products nationally as well as internationally.

During the fair, lasting from June 9 to July 10, we could see various entertainments, business activities, displays of new products and possibilities of having business trading partners. Visitors amounting to 4,2 million as compared to 3,8 million people last year were entertained by 250 group bands performing life music successively. More than 2,500 national and international companies took part in Jakarta Fair opening 1,300 stands, not to mention outlets and stalls for sidewalk traders.

The total transaction during the event was Rp3.5 trillion (around US$ 4 billion), wherein the last few days the rate of the transaction was higher to triple because of bigger discounts for buyers. The official of the whole activities’ coordinator, the Jakarta International Expo, said that the expo met with their satisfaction.  

The stipulation of the date of June 22, 1527, as the first establishment of Jakarta, causes recent controversies. It was based on one point in time in history almost 5 centuries ago when Fatahillah a commander of Demak Kingdom won the war against Portuguese.

Previously, in 1521, Portuguese held a treaty with Pakuan-Pajajaran, allowing them to construct a fort in the beach of Sunda Kelapa, which is at the north coast of Jakarta today, and annually receive spices from the kingdom as compensation of the Portuguese protection against the enemies. This event was memorized in Padrao Stone which is now kept in National Museum.

The Prince Fatahillah from Demak, Central Java, in coordination with Cirebon, being afraid that the agreement could hamper Islamic development, attacked Sunda Kelapa as well as Portuguese' fort and took it over. But before Fatahillah launched the full war, Portuguese fled away to Malacca where they felt more secure. Meanwhile, the locals, the Betawian people, were driven out without any resistance to the hinterland. The day was coined as Jayakarta, the victory day, taken as the original name of ancient Jakarta.

Some noted Betawian, however, were not happy with the stipulation and prefer instead the date of September 3, 1945, when Soekano stipulated Jakarta as a municipal. Albeit the controversies, as Jakarta has grown for the better, let’s all city residents celebrate the anniversary with joy.

Jakarta Bird Markets and Endangered Species

If you have spare time in the weekdays or especially in weekend and if you are a bird-lover, you can take a walk to Jalan Pramuka in Matraman and Jatinegara in East Jakarta where you can find bird markets among many existing in Jakarta. The birds sold in this market are ranging from local to imported including the rare ones.  

For local birds, we can find Java turtledove, yellow orioles, pigeons, Papuan parrots, Bali starlings, Papuan parrots, or some kinds of birds of paradise and canaries. Some traders even have collections of tropically imported birds such as Guatemalan parrots, Mexican parrots, and some other ones. Most birds on sales here are able to sing loudly, which attract customers who mostly love singing birds to come here.

The traders provide their customers with bird cages of different sizes, ornaments, and quality. Cage materials are also varied, ranging from the teakwood up to mahogany and iron which has an antique design and color.  Special food for birds and animals can also be found, including small insects and larvae. 

If you step into the market, you will be surprised, because this bird market does not simply sell birds, but also other kinds of animals such as orangutan and Sumatran tiger despite the prohibitions of the government and internationally strict regulations. Others which are on sales are Celebes macaque, a crested macaque, black monkey, and the long-limb gibbons. These animals are smuggled into the market and frequently in poor condition due to the inability of the traders to provide them with nutrient and enough food.

In case you are really interested in certain species, but it is not available, the traders can guarantee you that they can search for the animal in the next few days, and you can come to the spot on the compromised day to buy and take it home. Here in bird markets, there are at least 200 traders who earn money just from buying and selling rare birds and animals. 

The Matraman bird market is the biggest in Southeast Asia and was inaugurated by Governor Ali Sadikin in 1975. Initially, it was intended to collect and sell local birds, but as time goes, the traders start selling the exotic and endangered species of birds and animals. The Jatinegara bird market in East Jakarta also sells similar rare birds and animals though on a smaller scale. 

Buyers must be careful to buy the birds here because their health condition is questionable and there are a lot of brokers who try to offer their help – certainly with extra payment. We are really sorry to the fact that some of the species which are sold here might extinct on earth. The government, especially the local one,  should pay more attention to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) issuing the list birds and animals which are about to extinct and observe strictly the regulation by banning such animal trades. The species listed in IUCN as endangered species among others are Bali starling, Java hawk, Sumatran tiger, Java rhinoceros, birds of paradise and orangutan.

Traders of rare birds at Pramuka bird market are under the protection of preman (thugs). The problem keeps on going because regulations are not implementable; demand from foreign countries for rare birds and animals is high; the networks to foreign countries are already established, and people are not quite aware of the importance of maintaining the rare species as the world inheritance.

In commemoration of the World Wildlife Day on October 3, 2010, many people – citizens and also some expatriates – rallied at Hotel Indonesia, Central Jakarta, urging the city government to pay more attention to the illegal bird sales and stop any activities of certain people catching, keeping and selling various kinds of birds, some of which are on the brink of their extinction. Some posters and banners held by the demonstrators during the rally expressed their wishes and concerns such as: “House of birds in the forest, not the bird markets” and “We march against the wildlife trade.” 

And how about you?