Bylaw on public order to be reviewed<\/p>\n
Ahmad Junaidi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Socially disadvantaged people, including street vendors,
\nprostitutes, transvestites and becak (pedicab) drivers, can
\nbreathe a sigh of relief as Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso has
\npromised to review the controversial bylaw on public order.<\/p>\n
During a hearing with House of Representatives Commission II
\nfor home and legal affairs on Thursday, he agreed to review bylaw
\nNo. 11\/1988, which had caused clashes between such people and
\nofficers of the public order agency.<\/p>\n
\"The bylaw will be reviewed this year. But we still need a
\nbylaw on public order,\" Sutiyoso said.<\/p>\n
The governor responded to the commission's call that the bylaw
\nshould be reviewed as it was considered no longer relevant to the
\ncurrent situation.<\/p>\n
Legislator Panda Nababan of the Indonesian Democratic Party of
\nStruggle suggested the reviewed bylaw should include justice and
\nhumanity in its philosophy.<\/p>\n
Panda said the bylaw, which contained 33 articles, should be
\nequitable in setting out both the rights and obligations of the
\nJakarta administration and its residents.<\/p>\n
\"How come 23 of the articles refer to prohibitions on
\nresidents while only two refer to the administration's
\nobligations?\" he queried.<\/p>\n
The prohibitions include a ban on trading and sleeping on the
\nsidewalk, green areas, riverbanks and other public places. The
\noperation of becak is also banned by the bylaw.<\/p>\n
During the first year of the bylaw's implementation, a
\ntransvestite jumped into a river and drowned to evade public
\norder officers during a night crackdown on transvestites in
\nCentral Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Street vendors and becak drivers are often involved in clashes
\nwith public order officers. One security officer was even mobbed
\nto death in a clash with becak drivers in Cideng, Central
\nJakarta, last year.<\/p>\n
During the operations, thousands of becak and street vendors'
\nmerchandise were seized and stored at the city's warehouses. They
\nhad to pay hundreds of thousands of rupiah to get their
\nbelongings back.<\/p>\n
Activists sued the administration in the local court,
\ndemanding a revocation of the bylaw, which was considered a
\nviolation of human rights, but the lawsuit was rejected.<\/p>\n
Head of the urban division of the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute
\n(LBH) Tubagus Haryo Karbyanto stated that his institute and the
\nJakarta Social Institute (ISJ) had drafted a new bylaw on public
\norder offenses.<\/p>\n
\"ISJ worked on the social and philosophical aspects while LBH
\nformulated the legal aspects,\" Tubagus said after the House's
\nhearing on Thursday.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/bylaw-on-public-order-to-be-reviewed-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}