City administration told to focus on stability, security

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)