From Groundthe Up
Civil engineer Silvia Halim is the woman who built for Jakarta its first-ever mass rapid transportation, and she is changing the whole system at the metropolis
“I never really planned on being an engineer,” Director of Construction Silvia Halim said. Sitting in the meeting room at PT Mass Rapid Transit Jakarta (MRT), she told us that her first career consideration upon high school graduation was to be a doctor. “My options back then were either to stay in Indonesia to study
medicine, or to go overseas, live independently and study engineering. I chose the latter one.”
It soon became apparent that she made the right choice. Halim is one of the most accomplished young engineers from Indonesia, a developing country in much need to arrange its room to grow. Her success stems from deep-rooted values that she holds, as well as a passion for building things that are impactful for the public. “At first, being a civil engineer was just something that I do,” she explained. However, it turned into something that I love because, once completed, I get to see the impacts of my work, how everybody uses it, and how it touches their daily life.”
Halim then broke down the underlying values that she holds, and hopes to pass on to her team. “Firstly, have integrity in your job; you can lose everything else, but not your integrity. Secondly, lead by example— when I tell my team to do something, I better know how to do it. Thirdly, always give your best in whatever job you do and, lastly, think about how youcan do a service to the public in what you do.”
Having spent most of her adult life serving the public as well as building her career in Singapore, the latest post was a decade working at its Land Transport Authority, Halim once contemplated the idea of becoming a Singaporean citizen. “Suddenly, I got a chance to go back to Jakarta, do what I love to do, and make a great impact. I had to re-think my whole plan.” Initially, she never thought about having to live in Jakarta because of its notorious traffic jams due to poor urban planning.
“That is just not the way you should be living,” Halim said with a laugh when she recounted her past
feeling about living here. As she contemplated the job opportunity, it dawned on her that dealing with and solving those kinds of problems is what her job is all about. “It is not fair to be criticising my hometown without doing anything about it while having the capability to do so.”
At that time, then-governor of Jakarta, Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, was also looking for young Indonesian professionals who work abroad to go back and to participate in developing the capital. “I sent in my CV, and then everything just happened from there.” Navigating the job at the densely-populated metropolis was not always smooth sailing. There were problems and setbacks, such as land acquisition, regulation changes that led to massive re-designs, and even a request from the provincial government to finish faster part of the project
“We always stay optimistic and work hard to deliver what we promised. Problems are always going to be there, coming at you one at a time; but, if you are determined to find a solution, there will always be a way out.”
before the 2018 Asian Games. “That was quite a challenge since international guests were coming in for the event, and they could not be looking the ongoing MRT work with dirt everywhere along the road,” she said.
Halim successfully led her team to overcome all those problems. “We always stay optimistic and work hard to deliver what we promised. Problems are always goingto be there, coming at you one at a time; but, if you are determined to find a solution, there will always be a way out.” At the end of our inspiring interview, she shared to us her vision on what a sustainable city should look. “Urban development should not rely on private cars as themain mode of transportation, and it should have public transportation as the main system. A grand, master plan is the key for us to stay on track to reach the goal.”