1999: A year of grief and severity

1999: A year of grief and severity

By Ida Indawati Khouw

JAKARTA (JP): Residents of Jakarta saw 1999 as the year with
many social, economic and physical problems, resulting from the
continuing economic crisis and unrest which began a year before.

Ruins, neglected buildings, poor residents and even
malnourished children were views so common in the capital that
some experts voiced their anxiety that there would be "a lost
generation" in the country.

Following the May 1998 massive unrest -- which killed 499
people and damaged some 5,000 buildings with a total financial
loss of Rp 2.5 trillion (US$357.15 million) -- the city was never
absent from ensuing unrests, violence and clashes, leaving most
city residents reluctant to rebuild their damaged property.

Burned shops, buildings with broken windows or damaged houses
-- which were just perfunctorily renovated -- could be found in
each of the city's five mayoralties.

Even Governor Sutiyoso failed to convince people to
immediately rebuild their property as such poor conditions and
performance had resulted in a bad image abroad.

The people's unwillingness to reconstruct their property was
basically due to the political and economic uncertainty that
there was no guarantee the buildings would not be destroyed again
after they were reconstructed. It was also because most owners of
the burned or destroyed properties ran out of funds while
struggling to survive the economic crisis.

People's reluctance to immediately renovate or rebuild their
property was also due to the fact that the buildings became the
targets of a series of unrests prior to the general elections in
June and the establishment of the new government on Oct. 20 under
the leadership of President Abdurrahman Wahid.

The city administration, however, could not avoid the
obligation of repairing damaged public facilities, such as
traffic signs, flower pots, roads and toll booths several times.

The total damage, which mostly occurred during a series of
clashes between security officers and street protesters in the
election campaigning period, cost the city billions of rupiah.

Businessmen and others began to rebuild the city only after
the new government was established in October.

Head of the Indonesian Retail Merchants Association (APRINDO)
Kustarjono Prodjolalito said almost 95 percent of the destroyed
retail business buildings in the city had been rebuilt following
increasing optimism toward economic recovery.

The decision was taken especially after witnessing the smooth
process of the June 6 general election and observing the
resulting new government, he said.

Signs of economic recovery could also be observed in the
retail sector.

An executive of the Indonesian Shopping Center Management
Association, Stefanus Ridwan, said the occupancy rates of
shopping centers had been increasing in recent months.

Similar optimism was also felt by the city administration
which started to renovate six of its traditional markets which
were burned down during the massive unrest in mid-May last year,
namely the Cempaka Putih market in Central Jakarta, the South
Jakarta markets of Cipete and Pasar Minggu, the Palmerah market
in Central Jakarta and the Glodok and Perniagaan markets in West
Jakarta.

The renovation of four of the markets -- Cipete, Pasar Minggu,
Palmerah and Glodok -- were financed by a Rp 68 billion soft loan
from the central government. The renovation of the Perniagaan
market was financed by its traders while the city-owned market
management firm, PD Pasar Jaya, covered the expenditure for the
renovation of the Cempaka Putih market, costing Rp 2 billion.

Although physical renovations of the city's properties has
started, problems remain abundant, especially efforts to
strengthen people's incomes following the economic crisis.

The city administration relies on the central government's
multibillion dollar social safety net program. The program was
funded by foreign donors, led by the World Bank and was managed
by the National Development Planning Board (Bappenas), to help
the country's poorest residents cope with the worst impact of the
economic crisis.

Jakarta alone was granted Rp 109.52 billion of the aid
package, which was entrusted to the Community Welfare
Organization (LKMD), which has offices in the city's 265
subdistricts, to manage the allocation of the money.

However, mismanagement was reported due to the lack of
comprehensive preparation, detailed distribution procedures and
an adequate assessment system which would guarantee that the aid
would reach the people in need.

Poor city conditions have drawn criticism from city
councillors and non-government organizations, including the Urban
Poor Consortium (UPC).

UPC reported that many LKMD officials had allocated portions
of the funds to their wives, relatives and local officials, such
as community and neighborhood chiefs, even though the
beneficiaries are not categorized as poor people.

Other social organizations found that the LKMD also
manipulated data such as happened in the South Manggarai
subdistrict in South Jakarta, where some of the funds were used
to finance the renovation of 24 small mosques, when there were in
fact only 20 small mosques in the subdistrict.

Bappenas admitted that at least Rp 8 trillion of the Rp 17.9
trillion allocated in the 1998/1999 fiscal year for the entire
country failed to reach its intended targets.

Ironically, while the "elite" groups allegedly enjoyed the
funds from the safety net program, the poor found it even more
difficult to find adequate food for a day. This situation has
resulted in the undernourishment of children.

The city health agency recorded that at least 3,000 cases of
malnutrition in children under five years old, involving about
500,000 to 600,000 children in the city, had been detected since
the economic crisis hit the country in 1997.

Up to March, at least 58 of the malnourished children had been
hospitalized due to complications resulting from lack of food.

Such children could be found in slum areas and hospitals,
including the Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital in Central
Jakarta, where an ailing infant was treated because his poverty-
stricken parents could no longer provide milk for their eight-
month-old baby.

Meanwhile, others were just treated at their shacks in slum
areas in the city.