If Parisians have a headache over what the French call les pipis sauvages (wild peeing), Jakartans, too, refer to urinating on the street with a similar term, pipis sembarangan (careless urination).

Bagus, a resident of Depok, who works in Central Jakarta, said he had developed a habit of not touching the lower part of taxi doors after he witnessed several times taxi drivers pulling over and urinating on the roadside while using the car door to block the view from passersby.

“It is simply disgusting. Their urine must’ve splattered across the lower part of the car doors,” Bagus said.

Bagus is not alone.

Shoppers at Southeast Asia’s biggest textile market in Tanah Abang, Central Jakarta, have to cover their noses against the strong stench of urine because many men blatantly unzip their pants and urinate in public.

“I often see people urinating along pedestrian bridges connecting different blocks of the market,” said Sukur, a 64-year-old sanitation worker.

Sukur said he found it unpleasant to clean the crowded areas around blocks A, B and C.

“Whenever I try to warn them, they just stare blankly at me,” he said.

He said some of them excused themselves by saying the nearest restroom was inside one of the blocks and hence too far.

Wahyu, a porter, said those who urinated in public were usually street musicians and ojek (motorcycle taxi) drivers.

A frequent shopper who requested anonymity said he grew angry whenever he saw people express no remorse when caught urinating in public.

“They just do it shamelessly in the middle of the day and no one reminds them,” he said.

Even though Jakarta is said to have the country’s highest human development index (IPM) of 78.99 in 2015, taking into account achievements the capital has made as the center for most activities, from education, economies, business and tourism, public urination remains rampant.

Reckless urination also occurs in other public spaces in Jakarta, such as bus stops, parks and sidewalks.

“One day, I passed a bus stop in front of Palmerah Station in Central Jakarta and smelled a strong stench of urine. It made me angry,” said Holly, 27, a private employee.

Unlike Paris, which introduced earlier this month “eco-friendly” urinals called uritrottoir, installed in several urination-prone spots, and are being described as the first step toward achieving the ultimate goal of civilizing French street urination, the Jakarta administration is still looking for ways to tackle the issue.

Jakarta Sanitation Agency head Isnawa Adji Public said public urination violated a 2007 city bylaw on public order.

Isnawa, however, acknowledged that even though the bylaw had been enacted for about 10 years, his agency had never enforced it or tried to educate residents on the matter.

“We haven’t made a plan to tackle this issue,” he said. “However, we will try to enforce the bylaw in cooperation with the Public Order Agency [Satpol PP].”

Violators could face 10 to 60 days of jail time and/or a fine of Rp 100,000 (US$7.50) to Rp 60 million.

Isnawa said providing more public restrooms, such the 11 portable toilets at tourist spots in Kota Tua and on Jl. Sudirman, Central Jakarta, on the city’s Car Free Days, may help overcome the public urination problem. (dea/dmr)

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