200,000 newcomers to enter city

JAKARTA (JP): The number of newcomers entering the capital along with millions of residents returning home after the Idul Fitri holiday is expected to reach 200,000, a fall from an estimated 225,000 who arrived here in the corresponding period last year, an official said on Monday.

Sjahrin Lumban Toruan, who heads the City Population Agency, attributed the fall to the impact of the prolonged economic crisis.

Many city residents interviewed by The Jakarta Post upon their arrival at bus terminals here said they had discouraged relatives and neighbors from coming here due to the scarcity of jobs.

Many Jakartans have lost their jobs over the last 18 months as a result of the economic crisis, which has plunged the country into a deep recession.

Sjahrin said the total number of newcomers entering the city last year was placed at between 325,000 and 350,000.

"About 225,000 of them arrived here with people returning home after the Idul Fitri holiday," he said.

"The number of migrants after this year's Idul Fitri celebration has fallen in line with the number of inbound travelers arriving in the capital," Sjahrin said.

Deputy Governor of Administrative Affairs Abdul Kahfi reminded residents returning to the capital on Monday not to bring friends or relatives unless they had skills to offer employers.

"If newcomers do not have adequate skills, they will have almost no hope of finding work," Kahfi said.

Sjahrin said the number of residents leaving the capital between Jan. 12 and Jan. 19 reached around 2.6 million people, less than one third of the city's population of 10 million.

Head count

Kahfi said that he had ordered the city's five mayors to work closely with neighborhood units to take a head count of newcomers arriving in the capital.

Meanwhile, an official from the city administration's regional secretariat office said on Monday: "We will not give seasonal residential cards to newcomers if they do not have jobs here."

Gubernatorial Decree No. 160/1998 on guidelines to registration states that individuals intending to reside in the capital should meet certain prerequisites and conditions, the official, Tursandi, said.

"The requirements include providing documents stating that they have moved from their hometowns, letters guaranteeing a place to reside in the city, and work papers," Tursandi explained. (ylt)