Editorial
As Jakarta aims for global city status, a string of fatal infrastructure failures reveals the deadly cost of government neglect and unmanaged urban growth.
Dug up: Unfinished excavation work hinders pedestrian mobility on Sept. 22, 2025, in Jakarta. (The Jakarta Post/Iqro Rinaldi)
Going about everyday life has become increasingly hazardous in Jakarta, a sprawling metropolis home to 11 million people that aspires to be a world-class, livable global city. Instead, dangling overhead utility cables and unfinished, exposed construction projects plague its streets and neighborhoods.These issues are far more than mere eyesores; they represent a severe and present danger to pedestrians and motorists alike.
The lethal consequences of this negligence were underscored last month by two separate infrastructure-related fatalities. On June 16, a 16-year-old high school student died in Kebayoran Baru, South Jakarta, after the motorcycle she was riding on became entangled in a low-hanging cable. The impact threw her onto the road, where she was fatally struck by a passing school bus; the driver of the motorcycle survived with injuries.
