City slammed for plan to curb migrants<\/p>\n
Novan Iman Santosa, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Rights activists criticized the city administration's plan to
\nissue a bylaw for an integrated ID card system, saying that it
\nwas discriminative and against citizens' rights to move freely
\nacross the country.<\/p>\n
The bylaw, which is being deliberated in the City Council and
\nscheduled to be effective early next year, is aimed at curbing
\nthe rapid increase of undocumented migrants, mostly from poor
\nvillages, which has been blamed for various social problems like
\noverpopulation, poverty, the glut of street vendors, general
\ncrime, prostitution, panhandlers and the growing slum areas in
\nthe city.<\/p>\n
Interviewed separately on Friday, activists told The Jakarta
\nPost that such a measure was unfair as it hindered the citizens
\nthe right to seek work and move freely.<\/p>\n
Tubagus Haryo Karbyanto of the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute
\n(LBH) said such a measure was overly stern while Nursyahbani
\nKatjasungkana of the Indonesian Women's Association for Democracy
\nand Justice (APIK) dubbed the plan as unfair.<\/p>\n
\"The migrant issue is just a convenient scapegoat by the city
\nadministration whenever it is unable to handle social problems,\"
\nTubagus said.<\/p>\n
\"It clearly violates migrants' mobility and occupational
\nrights. The administration cannot stop them from coming just by
\nadministrative means.\"<\/p>\n
Nursyahbani said it was unfair to prevent migrants from
\nentering Jakarta because the city has developed much faster from
\nthe centralized development system in the country in recent
\ndecades at the expense of the rural areas.<\/p>\n
\"Jakarta has long been exploiting the country's natural
\nresources and the residents living near those resources are left
\nwith nothing.<\/p>\n
\"But now Jakarta does not want to accept more residents from
\nother regions. It is just unfair,\" she said.<\/p>\n
She added that actually there was no need for the
\nadministration to restrict the migrants as its population growth
\nhad been slowing down during the last 10 years.<\/p>\n
She also questioned why Jakarta was willing to accept the
\ncentral government's policy to allow many cultural, economic and
\nfinancial centers to be established here but refused to deal with
\nthe consequences of that.<\/p>\n
\"Jakarta has become a microcosm of Indonesia where we can find
\npeople from each corner of the country. We can use it as
\nstrengthening and uniting factor,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Both Tubagus and Nursyahbani urged the city to find a more
\nholistic solution to handle urban social problems.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, city councillors rejected the accusations that the
\nbylaw, which was initially drafted by the City Council, would
\nmake Jakarta a closed city, saying that it would only regulate
\npopulation administration.<\/p>\n
Posman Siahaan of the Justice and Unity Party (PKP) faction,
\nsaid that the population bylaw was needed to regulate
\noverpopulation here.<\/p>\n
\"We need to regulate the population without turning Jakarta
\ninto a closed city. There are so many people who have been living
\nhere many years but they don't have a Jakarta KTP (Identity
\nCard).<\/p>\n
\"Jakarta's responsibility and authority is becoming clearer
\nwith the implementation of regional autonomy,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Chairman of City Council Commission A on legal affairs,
\nMaringan Pangaribuan, said the bylaw would not turn Jakarta into
\na closed city, it would make it easier for the city to provide
\nservices.<\/p>\n
\"The bylaw will not limit migrants from coming here. But we
\nwill provide different services for those who have a Jakarta ID
\nand those who do not have it.<\/p>\n
\"Those who prefer not to have a Jakarta ID will be given
\ntemporary IDs without having the rights to get basic services
\nsuch as free medical service.<\/p>\n
\"By passing the draft into bylaw, we will be able to identify
\naccurately those who are legal Jakarta residents,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Pangaribuan, a councillor from the Indonesian Democratic Party
\nof Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) faction, also said the commission
\nwould hold a meeting with the City Population Agency to discuss
\nthe bylaw draft.<\/p>\n
Tubagus said many residents, due to their ignorance, did not
\nunderstand the importance of having an ID.<\/p>\n
\"There have been no efforts from city officials to publicize
\nthe advantages of having an ID. Not to mention the disadvantages
\nof not.<\/p>\n
\"The city's public services are so bad that many people,
\nespecially in the lower income bracket, decided it was pointless
\nto get an ID.\"<\/p>\n
He also pointed to the fact that city officials have so far
\nfailed to provide cheap, easy and fast service if a resident
\nwanted to apply for or extend an ID.<\/p>\n
\"Instead of conducting crackdowns to arrest citizens without
\nan ID, city officials should launch efforts to inform residents
\non the importance of having one.<\/p>\n
\"It will be even better if they can process ID applications
\nduring such an operation.\"<\/p>\n
The administration routinely orders the ID arrests, dubbed as
\nOperasi Yustisi, to find those without a Jakarta ID.<\/p>\n
Nursyahbani said it was time for Indonesia to have an
\nintegrated, nation-wide population registration system to avoid
\nthe bureaucratic quagmire of various regulations at the regional
\nlevel.<\/p>\n
\"The system is indeed very expensive as it has to be online
\nand connected to all related agencies and to all regional
\nadministrations. But this system will avoid current practices of
\nhaving multiple IDs which is rampant nationally,\" she said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/city-slammed-for-plan-to-curb-migrants-1447893297",
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