If you can survive Jakarta’s traffic, you can survive anything — or so say the capital’s long-suffering residents. The city is often said to be one of the most congested on the planet, but Jakartans haven’t lost their sense of humor, creating a range of humorous portmanteaus to describe the jams. Here we list five, all containing the word pamer, meaning “to flaunt”, but here figured as a contraction of padat merayap (slow crawl):
‘Pamer paha’ (flaunting your thigh), from ‘padat merayap tanpa harapan’ (hopelessly slow crawl)
The portmanteau used most often by Jakartans, aptly denoting the general state of the capital’s rush-hour traffic. Radio traffic announcers are also fond of the term.
“If I hear the radio announcer say the route is in a state of pamer paha I take it as a signal to find an alternative route” Ferdy Sitompul, a private company employee, told The Jakarta Post.
However, Ferdy said that he now tended to use traffic apps on his smartphone rather than waiting for information from his car’s radio.
‘Pamer jempol’ (giving a thumbs-up), from ‘padat merayap terjebak macet di pintu tol’ (slow crawl, stuck at the toll gate)
Congestion on some of the city’s toll roads has spilled over the temporal boundaries of traditional rush hour. Moreover, bottlenecks often form on roads leading to toll gates, further adding to congestion in the central parts of the city.
‘Pamer betis’ (flaunting your calves), from ‘padat merayap kebelet pipis’ (slow crawl, bursting to pee)
For Biondi Firmansyah, 27, having to ignore the call of nature while stuck in traffic is the city’s most irksome torture. Commuting daily between Jakarta and Bekasi in West Java, Biondi said the traffic during peak hours was often unbearable, especially the view of a sea of red brake lights — and no rest areas.
“I usually have no choice but to pee into a water bottle. Sometimes, you just gotta do what you gotta do,” he laughed.
Twenty-nine-year-old private employee Gustidha, who lives in Kebon Sayur, Central Jakarta, concurred, recalling her various traffic-related experiences.
“When I hear the call of nature, I have no other choice than to hold it in until I reach the nearest gas station or convenience store,” she said.
‘Pamer kaki’ (flaunting your legs), from ‘padat merayap kapan kira-kira sampai?’ (slow crawl - when do you think we’ll get there?)
Before long weekends, outbound traffic from the capital can turn roads and highways into extended parking lots.
In December last year, for example, two major religious holidays fell consecutively, with Christmas one day after the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad; both religious celebrations were declared national holidays.
Hordes of Jakartans took to the roads, aiming to spend the long weekend out of town — only to find themselves stuck in endless tailbacks.
Jakarta resident Elsyta said she and her family had been forced to cancel their plan to visit her parents’ home in Bandung, West Java, after spending five hours on the toll road.
“I was stuck in Karawang [West Java] for hours and we were not even halfway to our destination. I don’t know how much longer it would have taken us,” she said, adding that in normal traffic the journey took no more than an hour and a half..
‘Pamer ketek’ (flaunting your armpit), from ‘padat merayap kepala jadi butek’ (slow crawl, head starting to hurt)
Jakartan Ayu, 28, claims to worked out the best ways to wait out the capital’s paralyzing congestion. “Sleeping or reading comics are ways of dealing with the frustration of traffic jams.”
“Thankfully I don’t have to face that every day — only when I visit my family in Cikarang, Bekasi,” said Ayu, who rents a boarding room in Benhil, Central Jakarta.
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