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| Ketok Magic: The Cheap Alternative to Expensive Car Repair! |
by Farah 'Fairy' Mahdzan 
(1-Mar-2002) | Readers Say |
| Tukang ketok magic! While I was in Jakarta recently on a bus ride, I passed an area up North where there were groups of men by the sidewalk with spray paint cans and some metallurgy tools, just squatting away and smoking (some of course sipping teh botol). Curioused as a cat, I asked Evita what these men were up to with all that equipment, it seemed kind of strange to me to see so many of them around. She then told me these were so called car mechanics who did cheap mechanic labor and can ketok (ketuk) your car, spray paint and fix it before you bring your dented car home to your parents and get into trouble. Apparently most Indonesian youngsters utilize their service when some kind of unplanned accident happens. It is claimed that it's cheaper to send your car to a ketok magic for minor body work repairs. So if it's just a dent that's not too major, just look around for these fellas. So I thought, wow, cool! We don't have these things in Malaysia, people conducting business baiki kereta tepi jalan macam tuh; we only have durian sellers and orang jual kuih! What we do have are small bengkel haram who do cheap work to fix your car. But then again people in Jakarta are always looking for ways to earn a little bit of money however way they can, since money is something hard to get in large amounts (unless you pegawai kerajaan *grin*). Be it by singing and strumming their guitars at the traffic light when it turns red and you're in your car (I wasn't too fond of that, kind of annoying) or by being a skillful tukang ketuk badan kereta when some kid screws up their parents' vehicles, Indonesians in the lower class range are aggressively looking for money. Some even mine in longkangs looking for spare change.
Fibi filling her tyres up with air. Aahh... Are you driving around Jakarta and your tyres are out of air? No worries, there's always some dude with air pumps ready to pump air into your tyres for about Rp.1,000 (RM0.38). Similar to the people by the roadsides who can do quick car body work, there were plenty of these ngisi ban (isi angin tayar) guys around. Most of us in Malaysia would just drive up to some authorized petrol kiosk and fill our tyres with air there. Charge a Malaysian for something like air and hear him curse throughout his drive home! |
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| WHAT READERS SAY ABOUT Ketok Magic: The Cheap Alternative to Expensive Car Repair!: |
#21. apa sebenarnya KETOK MAGIC NIE? DISINI TAWAU PUN ADA. kawan saya pun dah melanggan!tapi kabar anginnya; dia mmg pakai ilmu magic kata diaorang. yang mana benar nie. betulkaa jin pandai bikin kreta? Posted by thuuntraat on 30-Nov-2007, 20:46 MYT
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What do some Indonesians do when they accidentally dent their cars and
don't want to send them to a workshop? They go to the guys by the sidewalks,
orang tepi jalan. Who on earth, you ask?
