Last October, I was invited to speak as one of the panelists at the International Conference on Borneo’s Green Heart, organized by the Sabah Forestry Department in Sabah, Malaysia (I was there representing Palakali Creative, thanks to Caretakers of the Environment International Indonesia for connecting me and giving me this incredible opportunity!). It was my first time speaking at a conference where most of the audience consisted of government officials, policymakers, scientists, private sector representatives, and NGOs involved in conservation and sustainable development from all over the world.
During a coffee break, I was having a conversation with a Malaysian friend who later told me something that shocked me.
“Did you know the population of Greater Jakarta is significantly larger than the entire country of Malaysia?”
I knew Jakarta is one of the most populous cities in the world. But when he put it into that perspective, I almost went speechless. Larger than an entire country?
In a different conversation, I shared that fun fact about my city that Jakarta is larger by population than Malaysia. Then a German friend asked me a question that left me speechless.
“How does it feel to live in the most populous city in the world?”
I don’t know. I don’t have the answer!
I know the traffic in Jakarta is very bad. I know the streets almost never go silent, even until midnight. But how does it feel to live in the most populous city in the world? I don’t know! I think I never would have asked myself such a question. Because it is what I’ve always considered normal. But I realized that the definition of “normal” is not the same for everyone. And that difference is what makes us uniquely human.