'Becak' drivers yet to enjoy independence<\/p>\n
By Muninggar Sri Saraswati and Fitri<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): \"Being a becak driver is easy. I just have to
\nuse my muscles,\" said Yatim.<\/p>\n
The 30-year-old man decided to become a becak (pedicab) driver
\nfour years ago after his hard efforts to find work proved
\nfruitless.<\/p>\n
Yatim, who dropped out of vocational school in his hometown in
\nCirebon, West Java, came to the capital 10 years ago to seek a
\nnew future.<\/p>\n
He worked as a janitor in a state department on Jl. Gatot
\nSoebroto, Central Jakarta, for three years before the job
\ncontract was terminated in 1997.<\/p>\n
Being unskilled and with no capital, he was left jobless for
\nsix months. Finally, he made up his mind to drive the three-
\nwheeled pedicab, as did some people in his neighborhood, a slum
\narea in Gemblok, North Jakarta.<\/p>\n
But now, a few days after a violent protest against a becak
\ncrackdown that killed a civilian guard, he worries should the
\nadministration conduct a crackdown in Gemblok market, where he
\nand other fellow drivers operate every day.<\/p>\n
\"How will I feed my family? It's hard to get a job here,\"
\nYatim remarked.<\/p>\n
Yatim lives by the railway line across from the Gemblok
\nmarket, where he has erected a 1.5 meter by 1.5 meter shack made
\nfrom cardboard. Here he lives with his wife, a baby and five
\nrabbits.<\/p>\n
According to a veteran driver, Suwarno, 52, becak has been in
\nexistence in the Gemblok market area since 1967.<\/p>\n
At that time, there were only a dozen of becak in the area,
\nbut currently there are around 100 becak operating there.<\/p>\n
Most becak drivers in the Gemblok market area come from Tegal
\nand Brebes in Central Java as well as from Cirebon.<\/p>\n
So far, the administration has never conducted a becak raid in
\nthe area, although Bylaw No. 11\/1988 bans them from the city.<\/p>\n
In 1998, however, Governor Sutiyoso said that becak could
\noperate in certain parts of the city.<\/p>\n
He retracted the statement the following day, but the news had
\nalready reached hundreds of kilometers away and many becak
\ndrivers started to come to the capital.<\/p>\n
Since then, the city administration and the becak drivers, who
\ngained support from the Urban Poor Consortium, have been engaged
\nin a tug of war. While the becak drivers persist in maintaining
\ntheir existence in the city, the government tries to drive them
\nout.<\/p>\n
The drivers insist that they need a job to survive and they
\nbelieve it is their right to work as a becak driver in the city.<\/p>\n
\"I only ask to be allowed to peddle my becak in the housing
\ncomplexes or around the market, as I do now. Is that too much to
\nask?\" Suwarno asked.<\/p>\n
He said becak drivers did not believe in the administration's
\npromise to help them change their profession.<\/p>\n
The administration once promised to give some capital and
\ndriver licenses to those who wanted to become bajaj (three-
\nwheeled motor vehicle) drivers.<\/p>\n
\"But it was only an empty promise,\" said Suwarno.<\/p>\n
Suwarno did not agree with the criticism that his job was
\n\"inhumane\", arguing that the drivers peddle the pedicab, which
\nhas wheels and chains, they don't push it like a rickshaw.<\/p>\n
He also denied the accusation that becak was a source of
\ntraffic jams, pointing out that there were traffic jams in some
\nmajor thoroughfares where there are no becak.<\/p>\n
\"We only want to do a halal job, we don't want to be thieves
\nor robbers,\" he asserted.<\/p>\n
Comfort<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Marni, a housewife living about 500 meters from
\nGemblok market, said that she always goes to the market by becak
\nbecause the fare was cheap.<\/p>\n
She felt that becak helped her, particularly after she shopped
\nin the market, since she did not have to carry the heavy shopping
\nbags home.<\/p>\n
\"It only costs Rp 1,000 for such a convenience,\" she remarked.<\/p>\n
Most becak drivers in Gemblok market area earn between Rp
\n10,000 to Rp 15,000 a day.<\/p>\n
They rent the becak for Rp 3,500 a day from the owner, who
\nusually owns between five to 10 becak.<\/p>\n
The drivers work seven days a week from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Their
\npassengers are the residents around Gemblok market. One has to
\npay Rp 1,000 for a short route of less than one kilometer. The
\nfares are quite low as even the residents around the area are
\nfrom lower income groups.<\/p>\n
Becak are also found in some other parts of the city, like in
\nBendungan Hilir, Central Jakarta, where middle-and-higher income
\npeople live.<\/p>\n
Yanto, 27, went to Jakarta to leave behind hardship in his
\nvillage in Pati, East Java.<\/p>\n
\"It's really hard to earn a living in my village. I didn't
\ncontinue my school because I didn't want to burden my parents,\"
\nhe said, adding that people in the village make meager income
\nfrom farming and fishing.<\/p>\n
When he arrived in the capital in 1994, his first job was as a
\nshop attendant at a drug store in Glodok West Jakarta. At that
\ntime, he earned Rp 200,000 a month.<\/p>\n
Since then, Yanto has had two or three different jobs, before
\nfinally in 1998, his friend offered him a job as a becak driver
\naround the Bendungan Hilir market, Central Jakarta.<\/p>\n
\"I was hooked to the profession the minute my friend offered
\nme the job. I think being a becak driver is really cool. I can be
\nmy own boss,\" he said smiling broadly.<\/p>\n
Yanto got his first becak by renting it from the owner. But
\nlater on, he bought it out of his own savings for Rp 600,000.<\/p>\n
He said that he can pocket between Rp 20,000 to Rp 30,000 a
\nday.<\/p>\n
Apparently, for Yanto being a becak driver is not just a job,
\nit is a career.<\/p>\n
\"If someday I have money and an opportunity for a 'decent'
\njob, I won't give up my profession as a becak driver,\" said
\nYanto.<\/p>\n
His love for his job also gives him courage. He was not afraid
\nwhen he came face to face with the city's security and public
\norder officers in a becak crackdown.<\/p>\n
\"I'm not doing anything wrong. I don't kill or steal,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
But, his choice of career was not without a cost. He separated
\nfrom his wife because she wanted him to have a more stable job.<\/p>\n
\"I couldn't always bring home money. So, she decided to go
\nback to her parents in the village and took my son with her,\"
\nYanto said bitterly.<\/p>\n
Support<\/p>\n
He also lamented the lack of support from the government.<\/p>\n
Hundreds of becak drivers staged a rally on Wednesday at the
\nNorth Jakarta mayoralty office and also in front of the Indonesia
\nDemocratic Party of Struggle (PDI-Perjuangan) headquarters in
\nCentral Jakarta.<\/p>\n
\"It claimed to be the poor people's party, but it was only
\nwords,\" said one of them.<\/p>\n
The becak drivers felt that the administration hated poor
\npeople so much, that it felt compelled to conduct becak raid
\nahead of the 56th Independence Day.<\/p>\n
\"Independence only caters to the haves, not for the poor
\npeople like us,\" he concluded.<\/p>\n
As for the city administration, it is quite clear. The law
\nbans becak from the capital and governor Sutiyoso has declared
\nwar against becak. This time, he and his officers, backed by the
\npolice, want to show the public that they will uphold the law at
\nwhatever cost.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/becak-drivers-yet-to-enjoy-independence-1447893297",
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