'I never knew Kemang would be like this'

The Jakarta Post

Talking about South Jakarta, particularly Kemang, one cannot forget Bob Sadino, the founder and owner of Kem Chicks market, one of the first businesses in Jakarta to cater to the needs of expatriates. To complete the story of South Jakarta, The Jakarta Post's Evi Mariani interviewed Bob, who shared some stories about the place he knows better than anyone else.

One day in the 1960s, Bob Sadino took shelter in front of a house in Kemang, then covered mostly by paddy fields and jungle. It was a nice area, still green, the air clean and it already had access to the city.

"I spotted a plot of land. I was interested in buying it. Next, the owner of the house came out and we talked," Bob said.

The owner of the house also owned the plot of land, and the two came to an agreement: Bob got the 1,000-square-meter plot of land and the owner got Bob's 1963 Mercedes-Benz, valued at US$1,000.

At almost the same time, Kemang began to become popular among a small circle of expatriates. They liked the tranquility and the greenery and they could travel in their cars to the city.

In the 1970s began the process that saw Kemang transform into what it is today: a chic and fashionable area.

"It was a coincidence that I chose Kemang and that Kemang was the choice of expats at that time," Bob said.

Bob, born in 1933, has witnessed Kemang's development into a bustling commercial area. "Kem Chicks was the only business there in the 1970s. Besides me, there were only a few small kiosks serving the locals."

"There's a perfect Betawi expression for what I was: biang kerok (pioneer). I was also the first to introduce eggs and chickens from modern farming. I brought them from the Netherlands. Indonesians were not familiar with those eggs and chickens; they ate homegrown chickens and eggs.

"It's now wild and chaotic. The traffic is wild. People open every kind of business from upmarket restaurants as well as McDonald's, antiques, bookstores, hotels," he said. "I never had a hunch that it would be like this."

He said all the development grew from the people and had little to do with the city administration's planning or help.

Bob said he had mixed feelings about Kemang's development. "I'm happy but also worried."

He said he worries mainly about the traffic, but he was happy the area was bustling. He has plans to turn his homey Kem Chicks into a large building containing 24 levels of residential units and two levels of commercial units.

"After that, I will just leave it to the next generation."