Blok M vendors march again to council over escalators

JAKARTA (JP): A group of traditional, small-scale traders who occupy the first floor of the Melawai 4 building, South Jakarta, once again went to the City Council to protest a statement made by South Jakarta Mayor Pardjoko which they described as almost dictatorial.

The traders, accompanied by their lawyer Yusuf Hofni Kilikili, adopted a softer tone this time and only sent ten of their representatives, instead of the hundreds they sent in the previous hearing with City Council.

The previous hearing almost degenerated into a fist-fight between Dasril, one of the traders, and Councilor Hotma Tambunan from the Armed Forces faction when Hotma made a remark that angered Dasril.

This was the fourth time the traders have gone to the City Council to demand an end to the ongoing construction of two escalators. They argue the escalators would lead potential customers directly to the second and third floors of the building which are rented by the Matahari Department Store, thus bypassing them.

The traders, led by Dasril, said they had received an invitation from Pardjoko to discuss their complaints.

"We thought Pardjoko invited us here to discuss this matter and seek ways to solve the problem," Yusuf said.

"But to our dismay, Pardjoko said the construction work was done on orders of the governor and that it must be continued anyway. He told us to turn to the state administration court to settle this case," he added.

"We were also told that because it was at the request of the governor, the mayoralty will no longer accept any objections or complaints," Yurman Darwis, another trader, said.

Yusuf said that Pardjoko also urged them not to make any effort to hinder the construction of the escalators.

"This was obviously neither a discussion nor a compromise. It's a dictatorship," Dasril said.

"Why does the mayoralty defend big-scale traders like the Matahari Department Store but ignore the plight of small-scale traders like us?" Dasril said, "We are disappointed with Pardjoko's approach."

In response to what Dasril said, Joko Suwindi, deputy chairman of Commission B on economic affairs, said that the commission has pledged to ask Pardjoko why he did so and that the traders should not worry or assume that the commission would not take their case seriously.

The traders also asked why part of the building's parking lot was added to the parking lot of the nearby Blok M underground mall and, according to Yurman, is currently occupied by sidewalk traders.

"Our customers used to park in that parking lot. We have lost many potential customers since it was appropriated by the Blok M Mall," said Dasril. He added that because of this he was forced to close some of his stalls for lack of customers.

Suwindi asked the traders whether they had appointed Yusuf to represent them. After Dasril answered yes, Suwindi said that the traders should leave everything to Yusuf and suggested that Yusuf alone negotiate with the commission to settle the case.

Dasril, however, said that he would feel dissatisfied if he and other traders were not included in the discussion.

Suwindi also said that the commission would include Commission D which oversees development affairs. (arf)