The Story Behind the Miniature Oplet Jakarta History Museum, an Icon of Jakarta’s Transportation in the Past

The Jakarta History Museum (MSJ) is one of the museums located in the Kota Tua area of Jakarta. The museum houses various collections related to the historical development of the city, ranging from prehistoric times to the colonial era.

Most of MSJ’s collections originate from the Koninklijk Bataviaasch Genootschap van Kunsten en Wetenschappen (BGKW), also known as the Batavian Academy of Arts and Sciences, which was established in Jakarta in 1778 by J. C. M. Radermacher.

Currently, MSJ manages around 6,382 collection objects consisting of furniture, weapons, ceramics, archaeological artifacts, ethnographic materials, and various miniatures in varying conditions. In the miniature category, the museum preserves diverse objects such as miniature traditional houses, miniature baskets used by street vendors, and transportation miniatures such as steam trains and oplet.

The oplet was one of the land transportation modes that became popular in Jakarta during the 1960s and 1970s. This four-wheeled vehicle had two long parallel benches that could accommodate several passengers. At that time, the oplet became a common choice of public transportation for Jakarta residents when bus services were still limited.

The History of Oplet Transportation

Economic and industrial growth in the early 20th century encouraged many people to come to Jakarta in search of work. One of the professions that emerged during this period was the becak driver, following the introduction of this Chinese-origin transportation mode in the late 1930s.

After Indonesia gained independence, the level of urbanization in Jakarta increased rapidly. This condition caused the number of becaks in Jakarta to rise dramatically in 1948. At the same time, another transportation mode also emerged, namely the oplet.

This vehicle was created by modifying a European sedan chassis and adding a wooden cabin behind the driver to accommodate passengers. The vehicle became known as the autolette, which Jakartans pronounce as oplet.

Another opinion suggests that the term oplet had been used since 1938, when the Opel factory in Tanjung Priok, in the Dutch East Indies, produced the Opel Olympia CL series with a cabriolet model. The cabin of the car was later extended and used as a shared taxi or collective transportation vehicle, giving rise to the term “Opel Cabriolet,” which was eventually shortened to oplet.

The oplet fleets used at that time generally came from cars manufactured between the 1940s and the 1960s. The types of vehicles used were also quite diverse. Various car brands such as Fiat, Ford, Morris, Chevrolet, and Peugeot were modified and used as oplet vehicles.

In many cases, four-door sedan cars were cut and modified by adding a wooden rear body to accommodate more passengers. Besides sedans, former wartime vehicles such as the Willys MB jeep were also used as oplet fleets.

Many oplet entrepreneurs at the time also used cars manufactured by the Austin company. As a result, people sometimes referred to the oplet by another name, “Ostin,” derived from the local pronunciation of the brand.

The removal of the tram transportation system in the 1950s also contributed to the growing number of oplets as an alternative mode of transportation for Jakarta residents. Some of the official routes included Tanjung Priok–Cilincing, Kebayoran Lama–Ciputat, Grogol–Kota, and Cililitan–Cisalak.

Oplets developed rapidly during the 1950s and once became the backbone of transportation in the capital city. However, over time their popularity was gradually replaced by more modern transportation modes such as microlets and city minibuses operated by the Koperasi Wahana Kalpika (KWK).

By the 1990s, oplets could only be found in several areas of East Jakarta before eventually disappearing from operation altogether.

Oplet in the Legendary Television Series Si Doel Anak Sekolahan

For many Indonesians, the oplet is also well known through the legendary television series Si Doel Anak Sekolahan. The series tells the story of Doel, a young Betawi man living in a kampung neighborhood in Jakarta.

One of the most memorable elements of the series is the blue oplet used by Doel’s family as their means of livelihood. The vehicle was actually a Morris Minor produced since the 1940s.

In the story, the oplet was inherited from Babe (Benyamin Sueb) to Doel (Rano Karno). The vehicle was often driven by Mandra and became part of many iconic scenes in the television series.

Before appearing as a functioning vehicle in the show, the blue oplet was reportedly used as a chicken coop by its previous owner. As a classic car that had already been decades old, it also experienced several engine breakdowns during its use in the series.

Today, the blue oplet is part of the personal collection of Rano Karno, who portrayed Doel and now serves as the Deputy Governor of Jakarta. The vehicle holds many memories for him and has never been sold, even though it was once offered for up to one billion rupiah.

For Rano Karno, the oplet also represents a childhood imagination, when he often saw these vehicles passing by the streets as he walked to school.

Since oplets are no longer operating in Jakarta today, they have become increasingly rare to encounter. Therefore, the miniature oplet preserved at the Jakarta History Museum offers a glimpse into Jakarta’s transportation in the past.

The miniature oplet, with the inventory code MSJ/KLN/MNT/0856, has been part of the Jakarta History Museum’s collection since 1968.

Accessing the Collection Through Jakarta Digital Collections

Stories from other collections of the Jakarta History Museum can be accessed through the Jakarta Digital Collections (JDC) portal, which is planned to be launched in mid-2026.

JDC is an initiative by Southeast Asian Museum Services (SEAMS) through the #KoleksiKita program, in collaboration with the Cultural Office of the Special Capital Region of Jakarta and 12 museums under its management. The program aims to expand public access to museum collections through digitalization and cataloging processes.

This initiative is also supported by the U.S. Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP), which is committed to supporting the preservation of historic buildings, archaeological and cultural sites, museum objects and collections, as well as various traditional cultural expressions in countries around the world.