Hyundai and the Jakarta economy Develop the instinct to quickly go to Christ

Together with representatives of other Hyundai dealers in the Philippines, I was in Jakarta last week for a conference and plant visit to Hyundai Motors Manufacturing Indonesia (HMMI) facilities. I had been to Indonesia many times, including four times in Bali for business and vacation, but the last time I was in Jakarta was 10 years ago. The progress and changes in Jakarta, which includes the COVID-19 pandemic years, have been enormous compared to other developing countries particularly with the Philippines.

The Hyundai manufacturing plant or HMMI is in a 3,000-hectare industrial estate located 29 kilometers from the Jakarta city center. HMMI has a 17-hectare air-conditioned manufacturing facility in a 50-hectare property. The roof areas are all with solar panels that provide 20% of the electricity needs of the plant, while the rest are from a hydroelectric power dam that provides electricity to the industrial estate.

The plant has a materials recovery/waste disposal system and all water is recycled. Materials and components washing/ cleaning use only water without chemicals, and all the paints are water soluble. It is aiming to be a green building and manufacturer.

The plant has a body and frame stamping press that produces 150,000 units per year or 500 cars per day for four Hyundai models; the Creta, Sta. Fe, Ionic, and Stargazer. It has a manpower complement of 3,700 employees including office personnel, but excluding the robot welders and assemblers. It has a restaurant/canteen that serves “hahal” food, Korean, western dishes, and Indonesian cuisine. It even has a small mosque. We passed by the Suzuki and Honda plants which were smaller than Hyundai, but considering that Toyota has 40% of the Indonesian car market, the Toyota facilities would be the biggest.

The industrial estate is not yet fully occupied, but the communities are already sprouting with houses, schools, and strip malls where the workers live and shop. The whole complex is envisioned to be a total manufacturing city, complete with all amenities for working and living. It is estimated that 25,000 workers are employed in this estate and another 25,000 could easily be accommodated. Together with their families, this could be a small city with 300,000 inhabitants. Since the traffic in Jakarta is just like Manila, this industrial estate will be a haven to work and live in.

The compensation of the factory workers in this estate puts them at middle class status with many of them owning cars or motorcycles. The supervisors speak English and the managers are college educated. We have a similar situation in the Philippines in our industrial zones in Cavite and Mactan, but our industrial estates are smaller, mostly assembly and light manufacturing. We do not have the scale and heavy manufacturing, so our salaries our lower.

Jakarta is a huge city with a population of 12 million people and another three million streaming to the city from neighboring provinces. The whole Indonesian economy (GDP) at $1trillion is more than twice the Philippines $476 billion, and growing at about the same rate as the Philippines, at 5% to 6% per year. They have a population of 230 million in 11,000 islands against our 110 million in 7,000 islands.

Most of the population is in Java Province centered by Jakarta, as work is more available in this area. Indonesia’s per capita GDP in PPP terms at $14,675 is 40% higher than the Philippines $10,136. They have a lower poverty rate and a bigger middle class. Indonesia is a bigger country with oil, nickel, other natural resources, and larger agricultural areas. Their manufacturing and industrial base is huge which creates higher-paying jobs.

Jakarta has an LRT, elevated highways, bus lanes and more high-rise buildings than Manila. Property prices in the city are in the ₱250,000 to ₱300,000 per square meter range. Urban problems like congestion, drainage, garbage, and water supply are creeping. In fact like Manila it is also sinking. The government has plans of relocating the government center and offices to another location to decongest the city. They are having their national parliamentary elections on February 14, and Jakarta’s future is an issue. There was vibrant campaigning in the city from all the candidates, especially the women. They really have a larger middle class that is growing faster than the Philippines.

When we find ourselves in some trouble, let’s be quick to cut the drama and with faith-filled dispatch, let’s just go to Christ asking for his help which he will always give, though in ways that may not be in accordance to our expectations.

This is the lesson we can learn from the readings of the Mass of the sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B. The first reading from the Book of Leviticus (13,1-2.4446) tells us that we are like lepers when we fall into sin. We should be isolated.

But the responsorial psalm already offers us how we should respond to this predicament. “I turn to you, Lord, in time of trouble, and you will fill me with the joy of salvation.” These words should be indelibly etched in our mind and heart and made to shape our reaction whenever we find ourselves in trouble.

The second reading from the first letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians (10,31-11,1) reinforces the same truth of our faith that whatever we do or whatever happens to us, we should refer ourselves to God, and that like God we should be helpful to everyone, regardless of how one is to us.

“Whether you eat or drink, or whatsoever else you do, do all to the glory of God,” St. Paul said. “Be without offence to the Jews, and to the Gentiles, and the church of God.” With these words, we are made to understand that when we do everything for the glory of God, we can manage to channel in ourselves the universal love God has for everyone, both friend and foe.

The gospel (Mk 1,40-45) clearly tells us that God always has compassion to all sinners as personified by the leper in that episode.

From all these, what we can gather is that we should develop the instinct to immediately go to Christ whenever we find ourselves in any type of trouble, physical, economic, etc., and especially moral or spiritual. Let’s never hesitate to go to God due to fear or shame.

We have to remember that as dramatized in the parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin and the prodigal son, (cfr. Lk 15) the common conclusion and the lesson to learn is that there would be greater joy in heaven over one sinner who returns to God than over many others who have no need for repentance.

And as reiterated in the gospel of St. John, “God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” (3,17) We should never have any doubt about the mercy of God, even if we may appear to be already abusing the goodness of God. Obviously, we have to make an effort to correspond as fairly as possible to God’s gratuitous offer of mercy to us.

Our main concern should be that whenever we are in trouble, let’s go to God as quickly as possible, asking for mercy and then for grace so we can start healing what is sick in us, or strengthening what is weak in us.

And just as God is merciful to everyone, we should also be merciful and compassionate with everyone, irrespective of how they are to us. We should remember these words of Christ: “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you.” (Lk 6,36-38)