Blok M vendors march again to council over escalators

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)