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Dying a dog-eat-dog world
Grave concern: A worker digs a grave at Tanah Kusir public cemetery in South Jakarta
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span class="inline inline-center">Grave concern: A worker digs a grave at Tanah Kusir public cemetery in South Jakarta. Jakarta has limited space for cemeteries, only about 31.3 hectares to accommodate 6,000 dead bodies.(JP/Ricky Yudhistira)
The property market in Jakarta is a dog-eat-dog world, with the rich competing with each other to own property in a prime location as land prices have skyrocketed in recent years.
Such fierce competition also applies for property for the afterlife as most Jakartans want to be buried in popular, strategic cemeteries like Karet Bivak and Tanah Kusir in Central and South Jakarta, which lack empty burial plots.
Ismono, 73, was among the lucky ones to be able to secure a burial plot at Karet Bivak public cemetery.
On Friday, she visited her husband’s grave to commemorate his death a year ago.
While there are no more empty burial plots in the front and middle sections of the cemetery, Ismono managed to bury her husband in the middle of the cemetery as his father’s grave was located there.
“A long time before he died, he asked me that one day if he passed away, to bury him in his father’s grave in the middle of the cemetery,” Ismono said.
The middle of the cemetery houses the graves of Ismono’s relatives from her husband side, including her mother-in-law.
Besides sentimental reason, Ismono’s family chose Karet Bivak as their final resting place as the cemetery is strategically located and easy to reach using public transportation, such as angkot (public minivan) and Kopaja minibuses.
To bury her husband, Iswono had to pay Rp 2 million (US$150), which was an illegal fee solicited at the cemetery. The money was given to the grave diggers and groundskeepers there.
Under a bylaw on cemeteries, all burial costs should be borne by the municipality. The only charges imposed are burial plot rent, ranging from nothing to Rp 100,000 for three years.
Ismono paid Rp 80,000 per three years for each tomb, apart from maintenance fees that groundskeepers expect to be paid.
Despite having to pay a huge amount outside of the official fees to secure a burial plot, cemeteries like Karet Bivak, smack in the heart of the capital, are more popular than ever.
“Cemeteries that have more capacities like Tegal Alur, Pondok Ranggon or Srengseng Sawah are less desirable. Heirs are more interested in cemeteries located in the middle of the city like Tanah Kusir, Karet Bivak or Menteng Pulo. Unfortunately, these locations are full,” Jakarta Forestry Agency head Djafar Muchlisin told The Jakarta Post over the phone recently.
The three available cemeteries are located in the suburbs. For instance, Tegal Alur Cemetery is located in Kalideres, a subdistrict in West Jakarta.
As the city’s graves are filling up, the city administration only has 6,000 burial plots left in the capital, while every day 110 people pass away in the city.
“That’s a high number, 110. Hence, if a family insists on burying a dead relative in a popular cemetery, we always ask whether they have relatives buried there or not. If so, we will offer to stack the newly deceased relative on top of the long-deceased relative,” Djafar said.
If the heir of the deceased does not renew the grave’s permit after three years, the grave will be used for a new dead body.
Hidayat, 58, does not seem to be bothered by the idea of his father being buried in a secondhand grave.
“We certainly don’t have a choice if we want to be buried in a strategic cemetery like Karet Bivak as there is no empty land left,” he said.
