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ome Muslim Jakartans came late to work Wednesday, the first day of Ramadan, oversleeping after sahur, a pre-dawn meal ritual to start the day.

Florian Candella, marketing staff of a cigarette company in Kalimalang, East Jakarta, said she had to adjust to the sudden change in his sleep schedule.

“I overslept today. My family woke me up at 3:30 a.m. for sahur. I was too sleepy to keep my eyes open until morning and woke up at 7:55 a.m.,” he told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

He added he arrived at the office at 8:22 a.m. and his working day begun at 8:00 a.m.

Florian who drives every day from his house at Jatibening, Bekasi, East Jakarta, said the street was quite empty that morning.

“I bet the others are also late, just like me,” he said, laughing.

A bank employee, Hartanto Adhi Wibowo, is another person affected by the sudden change of the sleep schedule.

“I woke up at 7:50 a.m. and I was supposed to be at my office on Jl. Sudirman [South Jakarta] by 8 [a.m.] sharp,” he told the Post.

Hartanto said he did not take a proper shower that morning.

“The traffic was OK that morning; it’s lucky I live at Permata Hijau [South Jakarta], not too far from my office,” he said.

The same “accident” also happened with people who work for the government.

“Four out of 15 of my colleagues at my unit were late to work today,” a woman who refused to reveal her name told the Post.

She works at the city Housing Agency at Jl. Jati Baru, Central Jakarta. She said they were all late because they had overslept after sahur.

She added that her office hour started at 8:00 a.m. during the fasting month, half an hour later than the regular 7:30 a.m. time.

“My boss also arrived at the office late,” she said.

She added that the traffic was not as crowded as usual.

“According my friends who live on the outskirts of Jakarta, the traffic was awful at 7:00 a.m.,” she said.

The analyst unit head at the Traffic Management Center (TMC) Comr. Adhi Santika said there were changes in traffic across the city during the fasting month.

“It’s only day one, but there were already changes in people’s behavior on the road,” he said.

He explained that most main streets were congested outside the regular rush hours.

“In many main streets, such as Jl. Kuningan, Jl. MH Thamrin and Jl. Sudirman, heavy traffic started an hour earlier at around 7:00 a.m.,” he said, while the streets were empty at 9:00 a.m. when traffic jams usually occurred.

Governor Fauzi Bowo said he will impose strict punishments on city officials who are absent the first day of Ramadan.

“There is no excuse, just because this is fasting month they are not allowed to be absent from their work. Those who are absent will be punished,” Fauzi told reporters here Wednesday. (ipa)