City facing serious social problems

JAKARTA (JP): The capital is facing the prospect of buckling under the strain of a number of serious social problems resulting from sharp increases in the number of jobless people coupled with the arrival of migrants from other parts of the country, a government official has warned.

Sabar Sianturi, the chief of the manpower ministry's Jakarta office, said here on Thursday that growing numbers of the unemployed coupled with the continued arrival of migrants would cause formidable problems unless the city administration took immediate action.

"On the one hand, the number of jobless is expected to continue to rise, while on the other hand more and more people from other cities and islands will continue to come here in search of a livelihood," he said.

Sianturi said that according to data compiled by his office, the number of unemployed people in the city was now thought to be around 825,000, pointing out that the real figure could be much higher.

He also said that data showed that Jakarta's population was now officially 9.6 million, but said the true number could be double that.

Sianturi said that around 60 percent of the city's true population had no permanent job or was unemployed, while last month alone, 300,000 migrants from other cities arrived in the capital in search of work, he said.

"Now most intersections in the capital are swarming with beggars and street singers and the crime rate in the city is on the rise," he said.

He admitted that massive job losses resulting from the economic crisis coupled with poor prospects of reemployment and rising prices of basic commodities had left many people facing destitution.

"The situation is like a ticking time bomb. It could explode at any time over the coming months...," he said, adding that rioting could be sparked by mounting frustration over the absence of signs of an economic recovery in the near future.

Sianturi urged the city administration to take action to help minimize the worst affects of economic hardship and unemployment.

He said that the government should act to stop the inflow of migrants to the capital because their presence could only worsen the situation here.

"Neighborhood chiefs should be on alert for newcomers in their areas and take action to prevent them from committing crimes," he said.

He urged the government to launch a campaign to improve life outside the city so that jobless people would return to their home towns voluntarily.

He said that the transmigration ministry should also continue to resettle people on less densely populated islands.

Sianturi expressed concern that many transmigrant families from Jakarta returned to the capital because of poor conditions in resettlement areas.

He said that his office would continue with training programs for unskilled workers and new graduates and would encourage labor export companies to send unemployed people to work in other provinces and abroad.

"We have sent many workers to industrial zones in Batam and many others overseas," he said, adding that 400,000 unemployed people left the capital to work overseas in 1998.

Sianturi also urged the government to continue to help the jobless through the social safety net program for as long as the crisis lasts.

"We have carried out a number of labor-intensive projects. Such projects will continue in the coming months," he said, adding that his office had thus far employed 26,000 people through the projects. (rms)