Jakarta Flanerie: Selected Writings of Seno Gumira Ajidarma Andrew Charles Starr Fuller Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy School of Asian Languages and Studies, University of Tasmania, November, 2010. Jakarta Flanerie: Seno Gumira Ajidarma's Writing of Urban Indonesia Declaration of Originality This thesis contains no material which has been accepted for a degree or diploma by the University or any other institution, except by way of background information and duly acknowledged in the thesis, and to the best of the my knowledge and belief no material previously published or written by another person except where due acknowledgement is made in the text of the thesis, nor does the thesis contain any material that infringes copyright. Andrew Fuller November, 2010 2 Jakarta Flanerie: Seno Gumira Ajidarma's Writing of Urban Indonesia Authority of Access This thesis may be made available for loan and limited copying in accordance with the Copyright Act 1968. 111,Q91 t-k-• Andrew Fuller November, 2010 3 Jakarta Flanerie: Seno Gumira Ajidarma's Writing of Urban Indonesia Abstract The intersection of urban life and literature is the starting point for this thesis on the writings of Seno Gumira Ajidarma. Seno has been writing since the early 1980s and is widely recognised as being one of the key figures of contemporary Indonesian literature. Throughout this thesis, Seno's works are used as the source material for an analysis of a writer's imagining of urban life in contemporary Indonesian literature. As such, this research seeks to contribute to discourses on Indonesian urban societies, Indonesian social and political cultures and contemporary Indonesian thought. I link Seno's work and studies of Indonesian urban trends with those occurring in other parts of the world. By drawing on historical, anthropological, literary and postcolonial studies of urban spaces and societies, this thesis shows the key ways in which urban spaces - particularly those of Jakarta - are imagined in the writings of Seno Gumira Ajidarma. I argue that Seno's writing allows a reading of urban spaces and societies that draw on ideas regarding Indonesian cities found in writings both from within and outside of Indonesia. This thesis uses theories developed on the idea of 'the flaneur and the practice of flanerie in contemporary urban societies. These theories are used to analyse the ways in which Seno Gumira Ajidarma writes of and about contemporary urban conditions in Indonesia in general and Jakarta in particular. I locate four primary areas where the concept of 'the flaneur is present in the writings of Seno Gumira Ajidarma. Firstly, Seno imagines the flaneur as a figure who engages in urban life in both an ambivalent and a critical manner. Secondly, he engages in flanerie as a consumer of jazz in late night jazz clubs and as a reader of news reports detailing stories of state violence far from urban Jakarta. Thirdly, he is a flaneur who negotiates the meanings of the urban soundscape. And, finally, the flaneur is a part of the urban landscape in a time of crisis who interprets the scenes before him through taking photographs and using a taxi to 4 Jakarta Flanerie: Seno Gumira Ajidarma's Writing of Urban Indonesia pass through city streets. The thesis shows that Seno's writings are both a continuation of an earlier tradition of flanerie and that he engages with contemporary theories and ideas concerning urban societies. 5 Jakarta Flanerie: Seno Gumira Ajidarma's Writing of Urban Indonesia Acknowledgments I have worked on this thesis thanks to the support of many people. Assoc. Prof. Pam Allen (School of Asian Languages and Studies, University of Tasmania) has been very supportive and constructive as a supervisor. Prof. Barbara Hatley (University of Tasmania, Monash University) has also played a significant role, especially in the later stages of this project. I thank Dr. Marshall Clark (Deakin University) for the role he played as my supervisor in the early stages of this thesis and also his critical role as someone with whom I can share ideas. I thank Dr. Barbara Hartley, Head of the School of Asian Languages and Studies at the University of Tasmania, for also being supportive and encouraging throughout my time at the University of Tasmania. I thank Hisako Umeoka, Mandy Pink and Dr.Karen McGraw also for their support. My interest in literature and urban studies has been propelled by conversations with Binhad Nurrohmat, Agni Amorita AMD, Damhuri Muhannad, Koko Sudarmoko, Radar Panca Dahana, Afrizal MaIna, Marco Kusumawijaya, Mina Elfira, John McGlynn, Henk Maier, Julian Millie, Sander Adelaar, Harry Aveling, Brian Stafford, and Stefan Danerek. I thank Seno Gumira Ajidarma very much for making himself available for interviews and casual conversations when I have been in Jakarta. I thank the examiners for their comments and suggestions. My parents, Michele Fuller and Trevor Fuller, have provided me with much support and encouragement. Thomas Fuller and Anna Harris have also been very supportive. My partner, Sarah Sandragne, is patient and sublime. I thank her for her love. 6 Jakarta Flanerie: Seno Gumira Ajidarma's Writing of Urban Indonesia Table of Contents DECLARATION OF ORIGINALITY 2 AUTHORITY OF ACCESS 3 ABSTRACT 4 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 6 INTRODUCTION 8 CHAPTER ONE: THE CITY IN INDONESIAN LITERATURE 18 CHAPTER TWO: FRAMING THE CITY 35 CHAPTER THREE: AN INTRODUCTION TO SENO GUMIRA AJIDARMA 52 CHAPTER FOUR: THE URBAN SPACES OF KEN TUT KOSMOPOLITAN 68 CHAPTER FIVE: A LISTENING FLANEUR: JAZZ, PARFUM DAN INSIDEN 107 CHAPTER SIX: LISTENING TO THE CITY: "BUNYI HUJAN DI ATAS GENTING", "PENJAGA MALAM DAN TIANG LISTRIK" AND "DILARANG MENYANYI DI KAMAR MANDI" 124 CHAPTER SEVEN: STREETS OF VIOLENCE: "JAKARTA SUATU KETIKA", "CLARA ATAWA WANITA YANG DIPERKOSA" AND "JAKARTA 2039: 40 TAHUN 9 BULAN SETELAH 13-14 MEI 1998" 154 CONCLUSION 178 APPENDIX ONE 181 REFERENCES 184 7 Jakarta Flanerie: Seno Gumira Ajidarma's Writing of Urban Indonesia Introduction The city is the frontier of modern Asian society (Dick, 2002, p.xvii). The centralising tendency to define 'Jakarta as X' is dead (Ajidarma, 2008, p.242). Over half of the world's population lives in urban societies. Many of the largest cities in the world are in Asia. Jakarta, the capital city of Indonesia, is one of several cities in Asia to be identified as a megacity (Firman, 2009; Silver, 2008): it has a huge and growing population, is densely populated and continues to spread out into other neighbouring regions. An understanding of the history and sociological conditions of Indonesia necessarily involves an analysis of the geographical, political and symbolic positions of Jakarta - and the city in general - within the Indonesian nation. Jakarta is the centre of both political and cultural power: it is the home not only of the national parliament, but also of many important cultural institutes. Jakarta's growth, density and development differentiate it significantly from other Indonesian cities: it is both exceptional as well as being a metaphor for Indonesian life. Throughout the last hundred or so years, Indonesian writers - and others who have lived in or visited the city formerly known as 'Batavia' and 'Djakarta' - have written about Jakarta and thus helped imagine it and create a vast discourse on what the city is and how it is experienced, lived and interpreted. Seno Gumira Ajidarma (b.1958) is one writer who has written incisively, creatively and critically on Jakarta and on urban conditions in Indonesia. It is because of Seno's extensive writings on Jakarta and city life, his critical acceptance as a significant writer and his ongoing productivity (as the author of some 30 books) that I have chosen him as the subject for my research. 8 Jakarta Flanerie: Seno Gumira Ajidarma's Writing of Urban Indonesia The intersection of urban life and literature is the starting point for this thesis on the writings of Seno Gumira Ajidarma. Since the early 1980s Seno has been widely recognised as one of the key figures of contemporary Indonesian literature. Throughout this thesis, Seno's works are used as the source material from which I analyse a writer's imagining of urban life in contemporary Indonesian literature. As such, this research seeks to contribute to discourses on Indonesian urban societies, Indonesian social and political cultures and contemporary Indonesian thought. I also link Seno's work and studies of Indonesian urban trends with those taking place in other parts of the world. By drawing on historical, anthropological, literary and postcolonial studies of urban spaces and societies, this thesis shows the key ways in which urban spaces - particularly those of Jakarta - are imagined in the writings of Seno Gumira Ajidarma. Throughout this thesis, I argue that Seno's writing allows a reading of urban spaces and societies that draw on ideas regarding Indonesian cities found in writings both from within and outside of Indonesia. The city in literature is a site where the elements of 'change' and 'continuity' can be explored. This applies to Jakarta as it does to other cities. Jakarta, as a site of intense political meaning and symbolisation (Kusno, 2000; Permanasari, 2007), is given meaning to through literary works. Indonesian literature has long been shaped by cities and urban culture. Modern Indonesian literature is an urban product. 'Low-Malay' literature of the nineteenth century written by Indonesians of Chinese background was set in Batavia and other cities of Java (see Salmon, 1985). Early modernist writers like Mas Marco Kartodikromo wrote vivid representations of cities such as Semarang'. Recent literary products are a key source through which we can understand how cities and urban spaces are interpreted, approached and imagined in contemporary Indonesia. Seno's writings are cultural products that complement I discuss these stories in Chapter One.