Fewer workers seen to try luck in Jakarta<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): With ongoing layoffs and the prices of goods
\nskyrocketing due to the economic crisis, many people,
\nparticularly blue-collar workers, will refuse to return to the
\ncapital after Idul Fitri, a noted sociologist said yesterday.<\/p>\n
\"Due to the crisis, I believe they have lost interest in
\ncoming back here. What kind of work is there for them? There are
\nno more jobs available in the city,\" Paulus Wirutomo of
\nUniversity of Indonesia told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
As a result, many villages and towns -- especially in Java --
\nwill be packed with people who used to live and earn money in
\nJakarta, he said.<\/p>\n
He urged the government to implement labor-intensive projects
\nin certain areas, particularly those that are well known as
\nsources of labor for the capital.<\/p>\n
These areas include Cirebon and Purwakarta in West Java,
\nTegal, Brebes and Surakarta in Central Java, and Pacitan and
\nMalang in East Java, Paulus said.<\/p>\n
\"If the programs focus on the agricultural, husbandry and
\npoultry sectors it could work well in those areas,\" he said. \"The
\npeople would no longer desire to find jobs in Jakarta.\"<\/p>\n
He said the current shortage of certain food items in Jakarta
\ncould be alleviated if workers produced the goods in their
\nhometowns and later sold them to the capital.<\/p>\n
\"Those areas will eventually have a strong economic base and
\ntherefore locals should stay in their hometowns,\" Paulus
\nexplained.<\/p>\n
The government has launched a Rp 33 billion labor-intensive
\nprogram for public works in 30 mayoralties and regencies in
\nJakarta and West, Central and East Java.<\/p>\n
The program, in an attempt to provide work for thousands of
\ndismissed workers, was scheduled to start earlier this month and
\nrun for 80 days, winding up after the presidential election in
\nMarch.<\/p>\n
The local authorities in Jakarta, Tangerang and Bogor have
\nstarted some of the programs but it is unclear whether other
\ncities have followed suit.<\/p>\n
The Jakarta administration has expressed its concern that an
\nestimated 2.5 million people traveling out of the city for Idul
\nFitri this year will return to the capital with members of their
\nextended family.<\/p>\n
If that happens in the middle of the monetary crisis, Jakarta
\nwould be prone to rioting and more crime as finding a job becomes
\nmore difficult.<\/p>\n
Some of the possible solutions include prohibiting those
\nwithout proper identity cards from entering the city, in order to
\nlimit the influx of unwanted residents.<\/p>\n
Commenting on the idea, Paulus said: \"It's impossible to hold
\nback people by checking ID cards. It's ridiculous. Jakarta is a
\nmetropolitan city. It's one of the consequences when a city is
\nopen to everyone.\"<\/p>\n
The latest data gathered by the national Idul Fitri post
\nreveals that 83,000 people departed the city yesterday before 6
\np.m. via the train and bus stations, Soekarno Hatta Airport and
\nTanjung Priok Port.<\/p>\n
And, according to city population agency data yesterday,
\n87,000 newcomers have entered the city this month.<\/p>\n
The city administration had predicted that the number of
\npeople returning to their hometowns for Idul Fitri would reach
\n3.5 million but it has since been revised to 2.5 million people.<\/p>\n
The significant drop in holidaymakers, traditionally made up
\nof blue-collar workers, was mainly due to people's fears of
\nlosing their jobs and a shortage of cash, several low-income
\nworkers told the Post yesterday.<\/p>\n
Sunariah, a 33-year-old servant at a residence in Cikini,
\nCentral Jakarta, said: \"My brother already lost his job as a
\nconstruction worker. And I don't want to face the same misery.<\/p>\n
\"I don't want to go back home to Brebes in Central Java
\nbecause I fear I will lose my job... what if my employer didn't
\nwant me when I returned?<\/p>\n
\"There is nothing to do back home, so it's better that I stay
\nhere,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Rachmat, a construction worker at a cable construction site on
\nJl. MH Thamrin, in Central Jakarta, said: \"Join the exodus? No
\nway... I don't have any money to take to my family. I'm lucky to
\nstill have a job here. I'm ashamed to go home without bringing
\nany oleh-oleh (souvenirs).\"<\/p>\n
Muhtadi, a taxi driver, shared the views of his fellow
\nJakartan.<\/p>\n
\"I'd better stay here and look for money instead of heading
\nhome without any money,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"I don't want to go home because the transportation fee is
\nalready too expensive... so I finally chose to mail money to my
\nfamily in Pacitan.\" (edt)<\/p>",
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