The exodus aims for a vacation<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The huge number of people leaving Jakarta to
\ntheir hometowns to vote on May 29 still does not indicate they
\nhave a high level of political awareness, political and
\nsociological experts said yesterday.<\/p>\n
Sociologist Paulus Wirotomo said that the main objective of
\nvisiting hometowns is not only to vote but to visit their
\nrelatives as well.<\/p>\n
\"Many people prefer leaving the capital to enjoy a vacation,\"
\nhe said.<\/p>\n
He said that an exodus during an election period had become
\ntraditional over the last few elections for migrants who mostly
\nhad informal jobs, ranging from vendors and housemaids to part-
\ntime employees.<\/p>\n
\"Similar fashion also took place during the 1992 election,\"
\nPaulus said.<\/p>\n
The sociologist classified these low-income people as seasonal
\nmigrants who could arrange their own activities and vacation
\ntime.<\/p>\n
The number of buses departing from the Pulo Gadung terminal in
\nEast Jakarta jumped to 968 buses with 43,310 passengers on Sunday
\nfrom a daily average of 800 buses.<\/p>\n
As of 2:00 p.m. yesterday, 292 buses left the terminal with
\n11,287 passengers, a terminal official said.<\/p>\n
Maswadi Rauf, a political lecturer from the University of
\nIndonesia's School of Social and Political Sciences, urged
\nvillage leaders (lurah) not to request migrants working in
\nJakarta to go home to vote.<\/p>\n
More lenient procedures are needed to help prevent sudden
\nmobilization, in addition to financial constraints, Maswadi said.<\/p>\n
Many travelers interviewed at the terminal were reluctant to
\nanswer about the purpose of their journey, but some said they
\nwere asked by the lurah to vote in their hometowns.<\/p>\n
\"Their votes may give benefit to a lurah's position,\" Maswadi
\nsaid, \"but the election should not create dilemmas among
\ncitizens.\"<\/p>\n
Governor Surjadi Soedirdja said people had the right to vote
\nin hometowns. The election procedure had let non-Jakarta
\nidentification card holders vote in Jakarta after they received
\napproval cards from the local district administration.<\/p>\n
Maswadi said that asking low-income people to go home to vote
\nwill only cause them financial problems, due to the substantially
\nincreased bus ticket prices.<\/p>\n
He said that illegal ticket prices were minimized during the
\nIdul Fitri holiday last February.<\/p>\n
\"The Ministry of Transportation set a regulation of ticket
\nprices during the one-month celebration,\" Maswadi said, \"but the
\nsame rule does not apply this time, thereby burdening the
\nimpoverished.\"<\/p>\n
City Councilor of the Indonesian Democratic Party, Lukman
\nMokoginta, shared Maswadi's opinion that the huge rise in bus
\nfares had burdened society.<\/p>\n
He also supported Paulus's statement that the holiday motive
\nhad influenced the election exodus rather than given benefit to
\nlurahs' positions. (10)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/the-exodus-aims-for-a-vacation-1447893297",
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