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Jakartans opt for prepaid funeral plans amid concerns over growing individualism in society
Some Jakarta residents choose to rely on funeral homes to take care of their future funerals.
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A worker of the Jakarta Parks and Cemetery Agency cleans the grounds at Pondok Kelapa Public Cemetery in East Jakarta on Feb. 21. (JP/Dhoni Setiawan)
F
rom purchasing a plot of land in a cemetery and arranging transportation to managing memorial services, there are many things mourners must do after a family member passes away.
While most families in Indonesia rely on neighbors as the closest people to help take care of funeral arrangements, other residents opt to be dependent on themselves on the back of concerns of an increasingly individualistic urban society.
Some have started to rely on funeral homes to take care of their future funerals.
Titin Novita, 45, is one such Individual. She recently applied for a pre-paid funeral plan offered by the Bunga Kemboja Foundation, an organization that specializes in providing funeral services located in South Jakarta.
Under the program, Titin is required to pay a small amount of money every month in exchange for a funeral service when she passes away.
“I was asked to pay Rp 8,000 (57 US cents) every month. In return, the foundation will take care of all my funeral arrangements for free,” she told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.
The East Jakarta resident said she chose to join the program because she did not have relations with her neighbors.
