Portrait of the “Glass State”
The Cicadas area was once known as a vulnerable area, a place for drunken makers, tarok makers, and slumber makers. There is even its own term to describe the Cicadas area, which is the country of glass.
In the past, it was prone here, because there were many drunken drunks. Now there are only one or two people, and even if they have money, in the past their vulnerability included adultery (ngawinkeun randa). If they are called bastards here, they are called bastards, people who are drunk take turns cutting each other with other drunks, said a resident of Cicadas who refused to be named.
The image of Cicadas as a glass country cannot be separated from the myths of violence and legends of youth groups in the 1970s and 1980s. In the late 1970s, for example, the Ravana group was known, then the Sakarima (Bandarkarima) self-defense group. Then in the 1980s it was known as the Dollar Club group, and finally in the 1990s it was known as the Ninja Cicadas group. Outside of this group, there are many local figures who are respected throughout East Bandung, namely Maman Sport, Nana Berlit, Maman Skogar, and Eman Suhada. Apart from these four figures, there are also those known as jeger and jawara.
The origin of the term jeger is unknown, and now has many meanings. For example, jeger is defined as regional ruler, sturdy and strong (panceg jeung geger), leader, regional security. Some even joked that it stands for “jig ka ditu, jig ka dieu nyieun geger” (Wherever you go, you make a scene).
Likewise, the term thug has many meanings. Among the population in general, thugs mean people who like to get drunk, are lazy, don’t have a job, often fight, tend to use violence to solve problems. While others see thugs as free people, free to act, to act as they please. Is the Cicadas area still as haunted as it used to be? Let’s look at a segment of the residential area in Cicadas, namely the area that was formerly known as Lemahneundeut.
Lemahneundeut is one of the densely populated residential neighborhoods in Cicadas which administratively includes the Cikutra Village. These settlements are dense, but technically not slums. The area of the settlement is approximately 6,244 m2 (446 tumbak). An area of that size is inhabited by 170 households (families) consisting of 670 people. Residential houses are built permanently, with almost no corridors separating them from other buildings. Public lighting facilities are available officially from PLN. Home telephone lines are available, as well as clean water sources from PDAM or wells. In the early 1990s, a household sewerage channel was built, but unfortunately it didn’t work.
The location of public health and education facilities is relatively close, for example the Santo Yusuf Hospital, and a number of public elementary schools. There is a temporary disposal site (TPS) as a cleaning facility placed outside the settlement area. Beyond that, the RW administrators organize their own cleaning services, namely picking up trash from homes to take it to the TPS. Since the early 1970s, this settlement, which is located right next to the Santo Yusuf Hospital, has become a community group that is officially regulated by the government. This status was granted after the issuance of the Regional Regulation (Perda) of the city of Bandung concerning Principles of Neighborhood Associations and Rukun Warga in 1971. Official supervision of the RW environment was further strengthened by the issuance of a Regional Regulation concerning the first amendment to the Principles of Neighborhood Associations and Citizenship Associations issued January 31, 1973. This regulation regulates the hierarchy of supervision and guidance. The Rukun Tetangga is supervised by the Rukun Warga administrators who are supervised by the Head of the Neighborhood together with the Camat or an appointed official.
The head of the RW is directly elected. There is a treasurer and secretary, then sections, such as PKK, education, environment, P4, security, youth, and others. Territory boundaries are also marked. In the case of Lemahneundeut, the division of the RT area was carried out simply, namely measuring the length of the alley that runs along the settlement and then dividing it by five. RW administrators’ cash money comes from three types of financial sources, namely community contributions, security services, and donations from a number of economic activities. The resident fee is IDR 2,000.00/month. Cash from contributions can reach IDR 125,000.00. The money is used to pay the garbage man’s monthly salary of IDR 100,000.00. The rest is for PKK activities and PKK Working Group Activities.
In addition, the residents gave a social contribution of IDR 1,000,000.00 to be donated to residents who were sick, died and gave birth. While security money is obtained from street vendors, motorbike storage fees, and car parking fees. Monthly security service income reaches IDR 120,000.00 from street vendors of IDR 60,000.00, car parking IDR 45,000.00, and motorbike storage IDR 15,000.00. The money is used for the salary of the security team. Other income referred to as “regional revenue” comes from levies on motorcycle taxis of IDR 100,000.00 and parking fees on Super Basar (SB) land of IDR 50,000.00. This income is used to finance management activities and donations to residents.
Sections within the management organization are given the freedom to seek their own funds. In 2005, for example, the environmental section sought funds by submitting activity proposals to the Parks Service, Public Works Service, and BPLH to clean up the river from trash. Likewise the youth section, through the Karang Taruna organization, initiated the collection of donations from road users for activities to celebrate Independence Day. Fundraising is carried out through the mechanism for submitting activity proposals. There are also other organizations. For example, the mosque management board (DKM) and the manager of the children’s playground. This organization is autonomous, manages activities and seeks its own funds. For example, in the mid-1980s the mosque construction committee and DKM formed a fundraising committee to finance the maintenance and renovation of the mosque. Meanwhile, the play group manager initiates cooperation with various parties to provide children’s play facilities and organize education.
Residents’ daily activities vary according to their occupation and livelihood. Adult males who have families outside the home, for example, carry out activities as traders, factory workers, shop workers, parking attendants, pedicab drivers, motorcycle taxi drivers, become teachers in public schools, volunteer activities in non-governmental organizations , to be a security guard (security guard) for shops and buildings. Adult women seem to be the same, only some of them live at home, take care of children, clean the house, cook, and some of them carry out economic activities at home, such as looking after stalls which are quite common in residential complexes.
The activities of adult men and women who are not yet married and have their own household also vary. Among them there are those who carry out activities at home, there are also those who have activities outside the home according to their work and livelihood. Around the 1970s, prostitution activities were rife, as well as lottery gambling. So what are the security threats that the Cicadas are thinking about right now? There are various definitions of security among residents. Some saw it the same as before, that is, there were no criminal incidents, such as theft, fights, robberies or rape. But there are also those who see it as more of an everyday problem. Feeling safe is the same as avoiding floods, being able to send your children to school, and not being unemployed.***
Author, research staff of AKATIGA Bandung.
