City administration, council agree on 'becak' prohibition

JAKARTA (JP): The city administration and the city council agreed on Wednesday to uphold bylaw 11/1988 which bans the use of becak (pedicabs) on the city's streets.

"We, the city council and the city administration, conclude that becak are still banned in the city as stated in the bylaw," council speaker Edy Waluyo said after meeting with city officials, led by deputy governor for administrative affairs Abdul Kahfi, to discuss the pedicab issue.

Edy said he had personally received objections from residents living in housing complexes to the use of pedicabs locally, since the pedicabs caused traffic and litter problems in the complexes.

The operators of Taman Mini Indonesia Indah recreation park in East Jakarta, Ragunan zoo in South Jakarta and Ancol Dreamland in North Jakarta have also expressed their objection to the operation of pedicabs in their respective areas for the same reasons, the councilor explained.

The agreement reached between the administration and the council ended the 11-month dispute between pedicab drivers, who were strongly supported by several NGOs, and the Jakarta administration about the presence of pedicabs on the capital's streets.

It was clear that the pedicab drivers' days were up after President Abdurrahman Wahid told on Saturday an audience of some 5,000 poor people, including pedicab drivers, that the government supported the city's plan to ban pedicabs, giving the reason that Jakarta pedicab drivers worked like horses.

Although the bylaw was issued in 1988, pedicabs were only cleared from the streets four years later.

The problem arose again early this year when local media quoted Governor Sutiyoso as saying that he would allow pedicab drivers to work in the city again in an effort to help poor people overcome the prolonged economic crisis.

The reports led thousands of pedicab drivers from outside Jakarta to return to the city's streets together with their three-wheel vehicles, which consequently caused traffic congestion at certain spots.

The governor then hastily denied his statement, accusing the media of misquoting him.

The revocation of his statement, however, was too late because there were already thousands of pedicabs operating in the capital.

As a result, the pedicab drivers, with the help of NGO activists, held a series of rallies demanding the city allow them to work the streets and the revocation of the bylaw.

Deputy governor Abdul Kahfi said the administration had counted at least 6,621 pedicabs currently operating in the city's five mayoralties.

"Ninety-five percent of the pedicab drivers are not Jakarta residents," Kahfi said during Wednesday's meeting.

He reiterated the city administration would pay for the drivers to return to their hometowns, including Banyumas and Cirebon in West Java and Tegal, and Brebes and Pekalongan in Central Java.

The city's public order office head Hadi Utomo on Wednesday said on Wednesday his office had earlier sent at least 2,146 drivers and their pedicabs back to their villages.

"But many of them have returned to the city again. We recognized this based on the marks we put on their pedicabs," Hadi said.

He also revealed that raids against pedicab drivers are not easy, since most of the drivers are equipped with sharp weapons to attack officers.

"Many of my officers were injured during the raids." (jun)