North Maluku: Basri left his office early in the morning to meet with officers in a remote village east of Halmahera in North Maluku province.
The banker's trip was cut short when a truck carrying goods bound for a supermarket overturned on the main highway of the 17,780-square-kilometre island.
The car blocked the road, and various foodstuffs such as cooking oil, rice, and diapers were scattered. At the scene of the accident, there was no waiting to call the police and no way to get the truck out without heavy equipment.
Basri and others present at the scene took a big step and began to talk, rest and share their food.
"Although the accident was just an accident, people are still happy," Basri told CNA.
Such scenes are not uncommon in the northern Moluccas, which is described as the happiest province in Indonesia.
The province's happiness index is 76.34 out of 100, according to a report published last June by Statistics Indonesia. North Maluku's score was the highest of all the provinces.
The higher the score, the happier people are, according to the index. The Indonesian Bureau of Statistics defines happiness with three main components, namely life satisfaction, love, and meaning in life.
It surveyed 75,000 households in the country's 34 provinces in July and August 2021. Parliament then approved the creation of four new provinces.
Specifically in North Maluku, the survey was conducted across all its districts and included 1,040 families. The population of the province is 1.3 million.
After North Maluku, the provinces of North Kalimantan and Maluku rank second and third in the index.
There are 10 indicators in the happiness index. Housing, income, work, community, and education were measured. Other indicators measured are the environment, health, satisfaction with life, safety and the reconciliation of work and personal life.
The Indonesian Bureau of Statistics also published the Happiness Index in 2014 and 2017. However, the methodology used was different. In 2017, North Maluku also finished in first place with a score of 75.68 out of 100.
With a laid-back attitude to life and a strong economy, things are looking rosy for the people of the northern Moluccas. But there are still many development challenges ahead.
