City Hall urged to stop netting homeless and street beggars

JAKARTA (JP): A councilor has urged the city administration to stop netting homeless people and street beggars because, he said, they are just victims created by the past regime.

Councilor Nitra Arsyad of Commission E for welfare said on Saturday, "There's no need for the administration, using officials from the city's public order office and social agency, to net gepeng (local acronym for homeless people and beggars), because they are the fruits of the past (Soeharto's) regime, which only focused on economic growth and national stability without paying attention to equal distribution."

During the New Order regime, "the poor remained poor while the well-to-dos became richer," he was quoted by Antara as saying.

"At this time, the poor are here asking for the promises which are too late in coming as this country is already on the brink of collapse," Nitra said.

It has been reported that the number of beggars and homeless people on the streets of the capital would mushroom during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadhan.

But this year, many estimated that the number would be much bigger due to the powerful effect of a prolonged economic crisis.

According to Deputy Governor for People's Welfare Djailani, the city, already home to 12,000 gepeng, would see an influx of some 3,000 gepeng during the ongoing fasting month.

Knowing about the possible boom of beggars and homeless people here, Djailani instructed officials from the public order office and social agency to net any gepeng found on the streets and put them in a temporary shelter.

According to Nitra, the poor development strategy adopted by the past regime has left may people in small towns and villages unable to survive there.

"They don't have any other way to earn money except flocking to the city," he said, adding that Jakarta is a free-for-all city.

The councilor also asked the city administration to learn from non-government organizations (NGOs), many of which have taken care of the homeless and beggars.

"The face of an official from the public order office is already enough to scare the gepeng.

"On the other hand, gepeng have a close relationship with members of the NGOs," Nitra said.

He then suggested the city administration arrest the groups of people who organize the gepeng, instead of netting the homeless and beggars.

"The city administration should arrest the coordinators, not the street children," Nitra said.

"Why do the gepeng only trust hoodlums (who organize their activities) instead of the officials from the social agency? It means that there must be something wrong with the agency," he said. (bsr)