Rapid development changes Tangerang<\/p>\n
By K. Basrie<\/p>\n
TANGERANG (JP): Tangerang has rapidly changed. The changes can
\nbe noticed in all aspects of development, such as buildings,
\npublic and social facilities and population but, along with the
\ndevelopment, Tangerang has also seen a rise in criminal acts.<\/p>\n
The rapid changes of the 125,500 hectare town, located in the
\nnorthwest of the city, have been recorded just in the past three
\nor four years, thanks to the massive construction of jumbo
\nproperty projects by private sector developers.<\/p>\n
Several huge integrated office and housing projects have been
\nconstructed in the area, including the Lippo Village and the
\nGading Serpong projects.<\/p>\n
The completion of Lippo Village, located next to the exit gate
\nof the Karawaci toll gate, may change the area into another
\n\"Thamrin\", the name of the main avenue in Central Jakarta where
\nskyscrapers, office buildings, prominent businesses and shopping
\ncenters are situated.<\/p>\n
The rapid changes, as usual, bring about both positive and
\nnegative impacts to the community and its surroundings,
\nparticularly in relation to the massive flow of local and foreign
\nnewcomers moving to the \"new\" town.<\/p>\n
In many cases, crime tends to increase following the
\nsubstantial increase in population.<\/p>\n
Although the crime rate in Tangerang is still relatively low
\ncompared to the other areas in and around the city, local police
\nsee that the heavily mixed population could easily spark a
\nserious problem in the future unless all members of the
\ncommunity, particularly foreigners, can respect each other and
\nwork together to eliminate crime.<\/p>\n
In a recent interview with The Jakarta Post, Tangerang police
\nchief Lt. Col. Tjuk Sugiarso, urged foreigners to further adapt
\nthemselves \"properly and wisely\" to the cultural traditions of
\nthe local people in order to create harmony in the neighborhood
\nwhich, in turn, could help keep order and security in their
\nneighborhoods.<\/p>\n
Home of criminals<\/p>\n
Tangerang is now a town of some three million, most of whom
\nare low-income people. Ten years ago, there were only 500,000
\npeople.<\/p>\n
In the early 1980s, Tangerang was widely known as a home to
\nnotorious criminals.<\/p>\n
At that time, even the head of a small neighborhood in the
\narea had to use \"voodoo\" to make his people, who were mostly
\ncriminals, obey him, commented Yusuf, a senior resident of the
\nCurug area.<\/p>\n
\"We really hope that foreigners can learn and understand at
\nleast certain aspects of our culture before coming here,\" Tjuk
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
He suggested that rich Indonesians moving to the town not set
\nup an exclusive border.<\/p>\n
He also reminded foreigners to treat their local employees,
\nincluding domestic helpers and drivers, appropriately.<\/p>\n
\"I hereby call on them (foreigners) to treat their local
\nemployees properly and humanely,\" he said, adding that it might
\nhelp in fighting crimes.<\/p>\n
According to Tjuk, criminal acts recorded at his office at the
\nmoment are mostly cases of land frauds, misuse of visas of
\nforeigners, liquid waste disposal and other environmental
\ndeterioration cases.<\/p>\n
\"I don't think that white-collar crime will increase in the
\nfuture due to the significant economic and development growth
\nhere,\" he said. \"Moreover, it's not an easy task to investigate a
\nmoney laundering case , for example, as it needs help from other
\nrelated institutions.\"<\/p>\n
When asked about the daily bumper-to-bumper traffic on many
\nroads in the town, Tjuk hoped that the Tangerang municipality
\noffice would not complicate the problem by constructing many
\nbottleneck road plans.<\/p>\n
The municipality office is planning to improve the \"face\" of
\nthe city by constructing more roads which will divide Tangerang
\ninto blocks per kilometer area.<\/p>\n
According to the plan, each block will be connected with a
\nmain road along with drainage, telecommunication and electricity
\nsystems.(bsr)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/rapid-development-changes-tangerang-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}