Characters and Issues Covered

Setting
Menteng Pangkalan is a soap opera set in a fictional kampung in a poor area of Jakarta, where people from all over Indonesia live. The kampung of Menteng Pangkalan is to be evicted to build a flash Business Centre, its residents struggle to deal with the ongoing challenges and conflicts caused by their different cultural and religious backgrounds, and by the pending development, evictions and related intrigues.

Menteng Pangkalan is a story full of suspense, humour and of course love intrigues, with a colourful cast of characters including:

Mutia, an Acehnese food stall owner being courted by Elang

Haji Jaim, a local landlord who wants to sell his land for big money to developers

Audy, an Ambonese Christian club singer and Maya an Ambonese Muslim whose families are both victims of the inter-religious violence in Ambon

Anton, a local tough guy indebted to Jaim

Najib, a Madurese motorbike taxi (ojek) driver

Sawang, a young Dayak student

Ceu Entin, Mutia's competitor who tries to use racial slurs to keep Mutia out of business.

This motley crew goes through many highs and lows which sometimes serve to divide and sometimes to unite them, but all of which bear important lessons.

Issues Covered
Some of the topics and issues developed over the first four series of Mentang Pangkalan have included religious tensions between Ambonese Christians and Muslims; stereotyping of Acehnese; street justice; narrow-mindeness towards homosexuals; prejudice and problems felt by Dayaks and Madurese; gossip and how it can lead to misunderstandings; organising of a democratic system at the kampung level as a fair way of managing different interests; and proper tools to resolve conflicts.