RT & RW

Indonesian government is managed the same way as another democratic countries do. We have president, vice president, cabinet, parliament, supreme court, and local governing bodies. But the unique part about our country’s government is that its “tentacles” reach down to the deepest level of society hierarchy. We have a special kind of official government organization which is called the RT and the RW. RT is Rukun Tetangga (neighborhood harmonious) and RW means Rukun Warga (citizen harmonious). They’re the lowest strata of our government tree who run daily social life of the citizen.
The local governmental system in Indonesia divide the vast territory which is also known as The Nusantara (archipelago) into 33 provinces. Each province is governed by a governor. I live in Semarang, the capital of Central Java Province.
A province, like Central Java, consists of smaller local government units which is called “kota” and “kabupaten”. Kota means city or municipality, whereas kabupaten means regency. Areas considered to be a kota is a big city which have a massive economic activity especially in industry and telecommunications. On other hand, kabupaten or regency is a wider area than the city that is consists of rural and countryside region whose inhabitant live mostly by become farmers. Head of a city is “walikota” (mayor), whereas head of a regency is a “bupati” (duke or regent)
Either city or regency is divided into “kecamatan” (district) and governed by a head of district called “camat”. Then, each kecamatan is divided again into “kelurahan” (sub-district). A sub-district is equal to a country or a village. We have two kinds of head of sub-district.
In a big city, each sub-district is governed by an official named “lurah” (the chief). In a small and rural town, each sub-district is governed by “kepala desa” or the chief of the village. Kelurahan is officially the smallest govermental institution in Indonesia. But in order to get the better approach to the citizen inside a specific region or a village, each kelurahan is divided into RWs.
A sub-district usually have between 10 to 15 RW. Each one of it is guided by an official named “Pak RW” (Mr RW). Then, each RW is divided into RTs. There are usually between 7-15 RTs each RW. An RT is guided by a “Pak RT” (Mr RT). Each RT consists of 18-20 household. So, RT is the lowest strata of governmental hierarchy in Indonesia. Its duty mostly is to maintain the harmonious and togetherness between the close neighborhood. Thus, “rukun” (harmonious) is the name.
An RW is mentioned with Roman number, such as RW I, RW II, RW III, and so on. Whereas an RT is mentioned with alphanumeric number, such as RT 4, RT 5, RT 6, and so on.
Unlike any other officials from president and ministers to mayors and the lurahs, Mr RW and Mr RT does not receive monthly official salary from the government. They even got no fees whatsoever. So, their function is basically similar to volunteer workers. They run their job not to obtain money or to construct a steady career path, but solely just to express their dedication to the society.
I live in RT 9, RW XIII, Kelurahan Pudakpayung, Kecamatan Banyumanik, Kota Semarang, in the province of Central Java. My Mr RT is Mr Prio Aries Pambudi. I myself also involved in the “governmental” structure of the RT as an “official” in event organizing. My duty is basically like an event organizer, which is to held any event in my RT. Like the other official of the RT and the RW, I receive no payment too from the government.
In spite of the fact that they work voluntarily, they did it seriously and wholeheartedly as if it’s their only career. They organize the citizens to watch the surroundings area in a nighttime private patrol called a “siskamling”, short form of “sistem keamanan lingkungan” or environmental safety system. Each month, Mr RT must also held a meeting between the citizens to discuss their daily life, resources, and the environment. Then, once in two or three months, similar meeting is held by Mr RW and attended by his subordinates i.e. Mr RTs.
The citizens choose the person who will hold the position of Mr RW and Mr RT regularly once in two or three years among themselves. He had to be a public/society figure who own high charisma and leadership and respected by all. The head of the RW and the RT is usually and mostly a man, and their wife will automatically hold the position as The Head of the PKK on the RW or the RT respectively. PKK is the abbreviation of “pendidikan kesejahteraan keluarga” or family welfare education. The basic duty of the PKK is to organize all the activity between citizens in healthcare, informal education, women’s emancipation, and practical skill such as cooking, sewing, or gardening.
Thanks to RWs and RTs, we Indonesian live in peaceful atmosphere and blend together as a big family (but sometimes we also gossipping about each other cruelly behind their back, a casual conversation that is called by the term of “ngrasani” or “bergunjing”…!)