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s large percentage of documented workers in Jakarta are employed in the informal sector, although some has found that the sector is becoming too competitive, forcing them to “employ” long-tailed macaques to generate supplemental income.

A report by the Central Statistic Agency (BPS) released in February this year said 35 percent of Jakarta’s 4.21 million documented workers were employed in the informal sector in casual jobs such as selling goods on sidewalks.

Coming from Cirebon in West Java, Sukartana, 24, has been conducting a monkey show, known locally as topeng monyet on Jakarta roadsides since 2007. He found that the occupation did not require very much start-up capital.
Who’s the boss?: A man massages his macaque, Jambul, after the monkey performed a show known locally as topeng monyet on a busy crossroad on Jl. Diponegoro in Central Jakarta. The 24-year-old handler, Sukartana, and other monkey handlers in Jakarta took the job because they lacked the skills necessary to work in the formal sector. JP/Rilwan Chondro
The man, who has been living in Jakarta for 12 years, did not graduate from elementary school because of his family’s economic circumstances. It is therefore little wonder why he grew up without learning skills needed to enter the formal job market.

“I used to sell plastic toys to students at schools in Jakarta but my business went slow. As suggested by my neighbors, I went to see an owner of monkeys trained for topeng monyet and started working as a handler in 2007,” the father of a one-year-old son told The Jakarta Post.

The topeng monyet handlers rent the monkey for Rp 20,000 (US$2.24) a day from a boss who usually owns a dozen monkeys that are trained to ride bicycles, wear masks and even mimic the shalat Islamic prayer.

Sukartana and most of his neighbors in Prumpung, East Jakarta, have worked in the same business area for many years.

Some of them make a living from Monday to Friday as trash pickers or sidewalk vendors, while on Saturday and Sunday they work with the macaques.

“On weekdays I can make a gross income of about Rp 40,000 from motorists when they stop at the traffic light [of Jl. Diponegoro].

“While in weekends, I can get up to Rp 70,000,” he said while giving a peppermint candy to his monkey, Jambul.

Jambul belongs to a monkey rental business owner, who puts marks on each monkey in a way to associate them with certain handlers.

Sukartana said that he usually gave the two-year-old macaque various kind of foods, such as boiled eggs, rice and bananas.

“I understand that Jambul can feel sick or exhausted so I don’t force him to perform and usually give him food several times in a day. If Jambul is sick or it’s a rainy day, I take a day off,” he said, adding the business was not harmful to the macaque.

Jakarta Animal Aid Network (JAAN) said they received hundreds of phone calls from people who were outraged and sickened by seeing monkeys abused on the road side.

They criticized the topeng monyet performance because monkeys were forced to perform acts and not allowed to rest while handlers constantly jerk the chains tied around the necks.

Sukartana did not deny that the training period could be a painful process for the monkeys as their hands were tied with ropes and were hung for several hours to train them to stand upright.

A monkey trainer who preferred to remain anonymous, said that it usually took him between three and six months to train a monkey.

“It will take more than two weeks just to make them able to stand,” he said, while showing off his monkeys that were caged in small rusted cages near his shack in Prumpung.

The Post observed that several other shacks in the slum area also had cages for monkeys.

Monkeys can transmit infectious diseases, such as hepatitis and tuberculosis as their physiology and anatomy are almost similar to humans. Like other warm-blooded (homoiterm) animals, monkeys can transmit rabies through biting.

There is another area in Kampung Rambutan, East Jakarta, that provide monkeys for topeng monyet.

Some of these macaques are also for sale. A monkey that is able to stand up can sell for Rp 250,000. (rch)