Rules Made to Be Broken

Four months ago, I walked out of a clinic in a daze, trying to digest the information about the main culprit triggering my chronic respiratory ailment, medically referred to as an “allergen”: cigarette smoke. But I do not smoke.

My reaction did not stem from ignorance to the evils of smoking but the numbing realization that residing in Jakarta presents a bigger problem than nearly anywhere else. “Unfortunately,” my pulmonary specialist said, “a cigarette has over 1,200 harmful ingredients and at least half of them are carcinogenic”.

Indonesia, a country known as a puffer’s paradise, currently ranks among the top five countries in the world for its smoker rates. But with neighboring countries Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore at the forefront of an anti-smoking campaign, the country appeared destined to follow their breathe-freer example, giving hope to residents like me.

That hope was bolstered when the Jakarta city administration issued an air pollution control law in 2005, including banning people from smoking in public places.

At the onset of the bylaw’s implementation last year, smokers were banned from smoking in public places, including schools, places of worship, office buildings, health establishments and malls. In restaurants and malls, there were to be specifically designated areas aptly named “smoking rooms”.

However, many months later, the stringent measures set to supposedly ensure proper implementation disappeared into thin air. Founded on good intentions, the regulation, like so many before it, has been left to slip-slide into failure through lack of conviction to its goals.

Annoying, frustrating traffic congestion is every Jakartan’s pet peeve. The city’s answer to the problem, after the “3-in-1” policy became a joke (despite opening up an alternative occupation for “jockeys), is the TransJakarta Busway. Let’s step back and look at the problem again. Existing lanes in the city’s streets are clogged with traffic. In short, current roads are unable to accommodate the rising number of vehicles and still keep traffic flowing. Will taking away one of those lanes to dedicate to the latest integrated busway corridor solve the problem?

After the 2002 Jakarta floods, another such wide-scale calamity befalling the city seemed unthinkable. But it happened again in February this year, only worse. What came to mind both times was the booming building construction all over the city and the visible lack of water catchments and green areas.  A few months down the line, will anything have been done?

Walking down the sidewalks in the Central Business District carries life- threatening risks. In most parts of the metropolis, besides the obvious phenomenon of sidewalk street vendors invading public space, there is a constant flow of motorcycles zooming past pedestrians. Notwithstanding this irresponsible behavior, it should be noted that the absence of a bike lane is partly responsible. But understanding the cause of the problem doesn’t lessen the danger I am invariably exposed to on my weekly visits to the bank.

After a lot has been said and nothing much done, it made me realize that I, and others like me, obviously face a real problem – the basic right to live in this swarming metropolis without my health and life continually threatened both directly and indirectly. There is no need for additional regulations and laws; the existing ones must be effectively enforced first.

The poor quality of the air I breathe, for instance, used to only be a daily nuisance I tried to ignore. But after walking in and out of hospital emergency rooms at least six times over the last four months, gasping for air as if it were my last each time, makes me realize the right to clean air is nothing to be taken for granted.

Similarly, the ensuing flood responsible for draining my life savings twice within a period of five years for unscheduled house repairs is an additional burden one need not have to bear.

Don’t we have the right to breathe clean air? Can’t we peacefully walk on sidewalks without constantly worrying about getting run over by speeding motorcycles? Do we have to go on living every day fearing a day of heavy rain can cause flooding and, consequently, a life-changing situation? As taxpayers and residents of the city, we have the right to public space. Since most of it is not made available to us, we should vigilantly take action to reclaim what is ours. *Kek Larraccochea

The writer is a freelance television producer/documentary filmmaker and is currently a consultant for an international environmental NGO.

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