Street vendors in Melawai oppose relocation program<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Hundreds of street vendors occupying several
\nstreets in the crowded Blok M shopping complex in Melawai, South
\nJakarta, have refused to leave the site and be relocated to other
\nareas.<\/p>\n
Interviewed separately on Wednesday, the traders -- numbering
\nin the hundreds -- simply said that they had been running their
\nbusinesses at the site without any objections from other parties,
\nincluding the authorities.<\/p>\n
\"This is a market complex and we just want to sell our goods
\nhere without any intention of harming other vendors' businesses
\nor creating insecurity in the area,\" Boy, a shoe vendor, said.<\/p>\n
The current location, particularly those areas located near
\nthe city-owned market operator PD Pasar Jaya building, the rear
\npart of Melawai Plaza, between the Gramedia bookstore and
\nPasaraya department store, have provided good earnings for their
\nbusinesses and many people are already familiar with their
\npresence.<\/p>\n
\"We've been here for at least three years now and always have
\ncustomers coming to purchase our merchandise, even during the
\ncrisis, because it's a good place to shop,\" Boy said.<\/p>\n
\"I believe that the public, especially purchasers, have no
\nobjection to us doing business in the area because they can buy
\nthings here that they cannot afford to buy at the big stores in
\nthis complex,\" he added.<\/p>\n
Moreover, he and the his fellow vendors have been paying a
\ndaily levy worth between Rp 3,000 and Rp 5,000 to local
\nofficials.<\/p>\n
The area is now packed with hundreds of traders, who build
\ntemporary, makeshift kiosks to sell a wide range of goods,
\nincluding fake items, such as wristwatches, shoes, garments,
\nperfumes and bags.<\/p>\n
They run their businesses on sidewalks and in parking lots,
\nthus disrupting the movement of visitors and vehicles.<\/p>\n
Storekeepers inside the PD Pasar Jaya market, for example,
\nhave been complaining about the growing number of street vendors
\nand the ensuing scarcity of potential customers in their stores.<\/p>\n
Councillors from Commission B on economic affairs visited the
\nlocation on Tuesday, following a complaint from storekeepers
\noperating businesses inside the building.<\/p>\n
After the visit, the councillors urged the local mayoralty to
\ndo their utmost to remove the street vendors in a bid to restore
\norder to the popular shopping complex, which is close to the busy
\nBlok M bus terminal.<\/p>\n
The councillors wanted the public facilities in the area to be
\nreturned to their original functions.<\/p>\n
A garment vendor Amarullah said he could not understand the
\ncouncillors' idea, saying that it would not work unless the
\nauthorities could provide a prospective site for the relocation
\nof their businesses.<\/p>\n
\"Otherwise (the plan) will only create social unrest here,\" he
\nadded emotionally.<\/p>\n
Oktrado, a bag vendor, questioned the reasons behind the
\ncollection by city officials of levies from the vendors should
\nthey (the vendors) be regarded as being undesirable.<\/p>\n
\"We pay Rp 3,000 to Rp 5,000 daily to the officials. If we're
\nnot allowed to do business here, why didn't they (the officials)
\nban us from the beginning,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Oktrado, therefore, suggested that the city authorities first
\nmeet with the traders before carrying out the plan.<\/p>\n
\"We need guarantees, not just promises, from the officials,
\nsince this concerns the livelihoods of hundreds of vendors,\"
\nOktrado said. (06)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/street-vendors-in-melawai-oppose-relocation-program-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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