Expert hails closure of Tanah Abang kiosks<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): A senior criminologist from the University of
\nIndonesia, Purnianti, hailed the city's closure of illegal
\nwarungs (kiosks) in Tanah Abang but urged the municipality to
\nfind alternative jobs for the people it evicted.<\/p>\n
When contacted yesterday, Purnianti said that the crackdown on
\nkiosks allegedly selling alcohol along Jl. Jatibaru, in the
\nheavily populated area in Central Jakarta, on Saturday, had
\nappeased residents.<\/p>\n
\"But the government can not close the kiosks without giving
\nthe owners alternatives. If not, the evicted people could become
\nanother problem for other areas,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Hundreds of angry residents swamped dimly lit drinking stalls
\nand cheap hotels in the area and attempted to tear down the
\nbuildings, which they believe have given their area a bad name.<\/p>\n
Purnianti said that local outrage reached its peak when
\nresidents of Kampung Bali began throwing stones at the kiosks and
\nhotels because city administration often neglected their reports.<\/p>\n
\"Tanah Abang is like a pot of boiling water. It could boil
\nover at any time if we can not handle it properly,\" she said.<\/p>\n
If the municipality had taken notice of the residents'
\ncomplaints earlier, the recent violence could have been avoided,
\nPurnianti said.<\/p>\n
Senen<\/p>\n
In a related development, the Central Jakarta mayoralty
\nstarted cleaning up Senen market Saturday by deploying 277 men to
\nbring order to sidewalk vendors around Blok I to Blok VI, an
\nofficial said.<\/p>\n
\"Senen has a similar problem to that of Tanah Abang. Some of
\nthe indicators that the area is prone to disorder are: an
\nincrease in the number of sidewalk vendors, the existence of
\nhoodlums, the overcrowded terminals and the chaotic traffic,\"
\nCentral Jakarta Mayor Andi Subur Abdullah said.<\/p>\n
Subur revealed earlier there were some 50 to 70 alleged
\nhoodlums operating in Senen and its adjacent areas, including
\nKramat and Gunung Sahari.<\/p>\n
\"We found various illegal activities there including
\nprostitution, extortion and gambling. We intend to stomp them out
\nonce and for all.\"<\/p>\n
Saturday's operation, jointly held by the Central Jakarta
\nMilitary District Command, the police, the public works agency
\nand the mayoralty, ran from 2 a.m. until 9 p.m. The team threw
\nout 15 rusty trucks and confiscated some of the sidewalk vendors'
\ncarts, umbrellas and scales.<\/p>\n
\"As with in Tanah Abang, most of the officials in charge of
\nmanaging the Senen market have been at their posts for more than
\n10 years. We realize it is a source of collusion and corruption
\nas the longer they stay, the bigger the chance for manipulation,\"
\nSubur said.<\/p>\n
For instance, he said, the chaotic market condition was caused
\nmainly by the sale of certain plots to vendors would could pay
\nthe most.<\/p>\n
\"One kiosk of only 1 by half a meter in size is sold at Rp 1
\nmillion (US$200) to Rp 3 million. That's crazy,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Moreover, various pirated products, including books, cassettes
\nand VCDs are sold at Senen market. This kind of practice must be
\nstopped, he said.<\/p>\n
According to the mayoralty, nobody was arrested in the market
\non Saturday.<\/p>\n
Governor Sutiyoso pledged over the weekend to clean up Senen
\nmarket as part of the municipality's program to bring order to
\nseveral commercial areas in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
\"Senen market is the next target after Tanah Abang. Its
\ncondition is not as bad as Tanah Abang's, but it still needs
\nspecial attention from the municipality,\" Sutiyoso said.<\/p>\n
Based on municipality data, Senen market hosts some 1,870
\ntraders, 20 percent of whom are considered illegal.<\/p>\n
\"I have already handed over the operation to the Central
\nJakarta mayoralty,\" Sutiyoso said.<\/p>\n
\"I want every market in Jakarta to function as the people's
\neconomic backbone. We can establish a market with high profits,
\nand markets in Jakarta have the potential to become major
\nbusiness centers in Asia, such as the Mangga Dua market for
\ninstance,\" he said.<\/p>\n
In a bid to reach that goal, the municipality will continue to
\nbring order to city markets which are burdened by illegal levy
\ncollections, corruption, collusion and hoodlums, he said.<\/p>\n
\"It's the city's job to make sure that those markets are
\nmaintained healthily, economically and socially,\" he said.<\/p>\n
After Tanah Abang and Senen, the municipality plans to bring
\norder to Kramat Jati market in East Jakarta and several business
\ncenters such as Kota and Glodok, West Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Besides the Senen operation on Saturday, the mayoralty also
\ndeployed another 50 personnel to demolish 28 dimly lit kiosks and
\nseize 378 bottles of alcohol in Tanah Abang from 8.30 a.m. to 7
\np.m.<\/p>\n
Three houses were also demolished by their owners as part of
\nthe city's plan to widen Jl. KH Mas Mansyur. (jun\/edt)<\/p>",
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