City administration told to focus on stability, security

JAKARTA (JP): Observers and residents called on the city administration on Wednesday to place more focus on maintaining stability and security in the capital, and less on holding celebrations to commemorate the capital's 473rd anniversary on Thursday.

Many city residents claimed they had lost their enthusiasm for celebrating the city's anniversary, saying deteriorating living conditions in the city was far more important a topic.

Sociologist Paulus Wirutomo and Jakarta Legal Aid Institute chairwoman Apong Herlina said the city administration had too many other things to concentrate on, and that the annual festivities had become meaningless given the worsening living conditions of city residents.

"The city administration should use Jakarta's anniversary as momentum to think about revising the city's development strategy," Paulus said.

He said incidents of crimes, violence and brawls frequently occurred in the city because the development programs did not reach the masses or improve the quality of life for the majority of the people.

"For instance, there are public facilities like art and youth centers, but they are not managed well. Even worse is that the places are used more for economic purposes," he said, referring to a youth center in Kuningan, South Jakarta, which has turned into a shopping complex and the lack of vision behind the management of the Taman Ismail Marzuki arts center in Central Jakarta.

Conditions deteriorated further after the country was hit by the economic crisis in 1997, which resulted in increased unemployment, he said.

He said that given the unfavorable conditions it was understandable that Jakartans were not enthusiastic about commemorating the city's anniversary.

Paulus said the administration should follow the lead of the Malaysian government, which provided the support to increase employment opportunities.

"Employment will stifle aggressiveness. So far I don't see evidence that the city administration has any visionary programs," he said.

Numerous festivities are planned by the administration to mark the city's 473rd anniversary, including the Pasar Baru festival and community celebration on Jl. Antara in Central Jakarta, dangdut music at Kali Deres in West Jakarta and keroncong and dangdut music performances in North Jakarta.

Apong said the administration could celebrate the anniversary in more meaningful ways, such as organizing a community dialog to resolve the city's numerous problems.

"People, in this case activists from non-governmental organizations, are always invited to give input to the administration," she said.

Apong rejected the claim the celebrations would show the world Jakarta was safe. "Safety is not proven by the flawlessness of a celebration, but by the feelings of the people."

She said she saw no changes in the administration's attitude. "Ironically, like what is happening at the national level, those who have authority in the city are more interested in having political struggles."

Many city residents are of the same opinion. Handi Juhandi, who owns a food stall at Senen shopping complex in Central Jakarta, said the capital was becoming more and more horrifying as violence occurred with increasing frequency.

"So organizing any kind of celebration will mean nothing. Maintaining security is a much more important issue now," Handi said.

He said he always felt uneasy when running his business. "I sometimes worry that a celebration like the one at Pasar Baru can turn violent anytime. It is us who will always feel the impact."

Another resident, Aman, who runs a fabric shop at Pasar Baru, said it was okay to hold the celebrations as long as the administration could guarantee the programs would run smoothly.

"Security is the most important thing for businesspeople," she said.

However, many residents were unaware of the anniversary, even those who witnessed the opening of the Pasar Baru festival.

"I thought it was being held to celebrate Indonesia's independence day," said Mujiah, 65, upon witnessing the opening of the festival.

Other residents showed a similar lack of knowledge for the reason behind the celebration. "I don't know. I just passed here and stopped to watch the festivities," said Usman. (ind)