Alleged Illegal Levies on Free Cemeteries in Jakarta Under Scrutiny
The free burial programme run by the DKI Jakarta Provincial Government remains overshadowed by illegal levy practices in the field. Member of Commission D of the DKI Jakarta DPRD from the PKS faction, Nabilah Aboe Bakar, admitted she still receives public complaints regarding levies deemed burdensome during the burial process.
During a meeting discussing the Accountability Report for the Regional Budget Implementation with several regional apparatus organisations, Nabilah requested the DKI Jakarta Parks and Urban Forest Agency conduct a thorough evaluation of the free burial service at public cemeteries owned by the provincial government.
“I also request an evaluation regarding free burials. Because it turns out in the field many still feel there are excessive illegal levies. I might say this is the work of irresponsible individuals. Okay, there are irresponsible individuals. And now the entire public knows that public cemeteries should essentially be free,” Nabilah said at the DKI Jakarta DPRD Building on Wednesday (17/6).
According to her, this has the potential to undermine the public service programme the government has prepared to ease the burden on the community. “Please, what is the follow-up from the Parks Agency regarding this matter? Do not let this become continuous neglect. It is a pity for the community,” she stated.
Responding to this, Head of the DKI Jakarta Parks and Urban Forest Agency, Fajar Sauri, acknowledged that his party still finds illegal levy practices in the burial process. However, according to him, the pattern currently found differs from before. Fajar said his party has taken disciplinary action against internal individuals involved in the illegal levy practices.
“Indeed, we admit that we have been slowly curbing the illegal levies. But the pattern is different. For our internal staff, thank God, they have started to admit that it was a mistake,” Fajar said. He revealed that a number of findings in the field indicate the involvement of other parties who are not official burial officers. “What we encounter is the involvement of RT and RW heads, thus giving them the freedom to receive money outside of the burial staff,” he explained.
According to Fajar, this condition often causes misunderstandings among the public. This is because the heirs assume the levy comes from cemetery officers, whereas the money is received by other parties outside the cemetery management. “It has been proven that there are those managing things outside the burial process, so the heirs think those people are burial staff. Now, we must continue to investigate the cause,” he said.
The DPRD requested the DKI Provincial Government strengthen supervision and enforcement against illegal levy practices so that the free burial service can truly be felt by the community without undue additional costs. This issue has become a concern because the demand for burial services in Jakarta continues to increase amid the limited availability of burial land. Besides highlighting illegal levies, the DPRD also asked the provincial government to seek a long-term solution to address burial issues in the capital city.