A Ground Breaking Ceremony In Jakarta.

Recently I went for a ground breaking ceremony. This was a new experience for me as I’ve never been to such an event in Indonesia. My boss is the company’s representative and he was kind enough to ask me to accompany him.

Jakarta is now developing very fast with construction round the clock. This is the night view from my hotel. There is skyscraper and huge modern shopping complexes being built next to more modest buildings.

This is what it looked like early next morning. Air pollution is quite bad and the traffic is even more atrocious than KL. Some of the new complexes are really impressive though. Many Malaysians have a rather misleading opinion of the situation there.


Some things are the same though. There is a railway line running parallel to my hotel. I can see many people risking their lives walking along the railway track – not across but along it.

We were up early the next morning as we have to travel about 2 hours to reach the port city of Cilegon which is at the northern tip of Java Island opposite that of Sumatra. It was an excellent highway as good as any in Malaysia. The place where the new factory will be situated is in a relatively new industrial estate.

This is the piece of land on which a new factory will be built. In just one and a half year, a factory will be standing in this empty land and it will be bustling with activities. Notice that forlorn buffalo in the background? It is there for a purpose.


They have erected a reception area and a main tent for invited guests and guests of honor. It was already well occupied by the time we reached there though it will be quite some time before the actual ceremony starts. Most of the guests wear either sarongs and songkoks, or were in army uniforms.

The owner’s representative gave a short speech on the project. Though it was a very hot day, he declined the umbrella offered to shield him. He talked about the aspiration of the new company and its commitment to help both the people and the economy.

Next, the administrative chief for this region took the stand. He is a good speaker and gave in parts a humorous delivery. He is comfortable with his speaking and need no notes to give a smooth delivery that have the audience in stitches at times.

The village representative was up next. He made 3 requests. Firstly, he hoped the company will take care of the environment during the construction and running of the factory. He hoped that they will provide employment for the community in the village. Lastly, he hoped the company will help with the repair and renovation of the local mosque. I thought that was very reasonable.

Then the first foundation stone was laid at what will be the edge of a new building. A right angle ditch has been dug and stone and cement were provided to place the stone and plaster the cement on. The owners and guests of honor took turn to place and cement the stones. I was surprised when I was invited to also lay a stone as well. As I laid my stone, I could not help feeling a little proud as this is the first time I had laid a foundation stone. A year later when I will be back there again, a building will probably be already standing in its place.

When that was over, it was prayer time. The ulama then chant a prayer blessing the project.

I looked at the buffalo in the distance and felt kind of pity for it. It is the sacrifice for the ‘korban’ ceremony, a local tradition which we have to respect. When Indonesian moved to a new house, they would sacrifice a chicken instead and sprayed the chicken blood to cleanse the place.

The man in the picture is digging a hole in which they will bury the buffalo’s head. The villager would probably cook the buffalo and shared it among themselves. I did not stay to watch as I do not have the stomach for such thing. At the same time, I have a lot of respect for local culture and tradition so I’m a bit torn in this case. We left this to the villagers who are better versed in handling this.

As we drove to the airport, I reflected back on the day’s event. How, soon our fate will be tied with the local people since we have chosen to invest in their place and wonder how this will all turn out. There is no guarantee in business. Guess we will just have to put in our best effort and hope for the best.


But for that poor buffalo to be sacrificed for the good of human beings, there is a smack of unfairness in there somewhere...