City slammed for plan to curb migrants

City slammed for plan to curb migrants

Novan Iman Santosa, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Rights activists criticized the city administration's plan to
issue a bylaw for an integrated ID card system, saying that it
was discriminative and against citizens' rights to move freely
across the country.

The bylaw, which is being deliberated in the City Council and
scheduled to be effective early next year, is aimed at curbing
the rapid increase of undocumented migrants, mostly from poor
villages, which has been blamed for various social problems like
overpopulation, poverty, the glut of street vendors, general
crime, prostitution, panhandlers and the growing slum areas in
the city.

Interviewed separately on Friday, activists told The Jakarta
Post that such a measure was unfair as it hindered the citizens
the right to seek work and move freely.

Tubagus Haryo Karbyanto of the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute
(LBH) said such a measure was overly stern while Nursyahbani
Katjasungkana of the Indonesian Women's Association for Democracy
and Justice (APIK) dubbed the plan as unfair.

"The migrant issue is just a convenient scapegoat by the city
administration whenever it is unable to handle social problems,"
Tubagus said.

"It clearly violates migrants' mobility and occupational
rights. The administration cannot stop them from coming just by
administrative means."

Nursyahbani said it was unfair to prevent migrants from
entering Jakarta because the city has developed much faster from
the centralized development system in the country in recent
decades at the expense of the rural areas.

"Jakarta has long been exploiting the country's natural
resources and the residents living near those resources are left
with nothing.

"But now Jakarta does not want to accept more residents from
other regions. It is just unfair," she said.

She added that actually there was no need for the
administration to restrict the migrants as its population growth
had been slowing down during the last 10 years.

She also questioned why Jakarta was willing to accept the
central government's policy to allow many cultural, economic and
financial centers to be established here but refused to deal with
the consequences of that.

"Jakarta has become a microcosm of Indonesia where we can find
people from each corner of the country. We can use it as
strengthening and uniting factor," she said.

Both Tubagus and Nursyahbani urged the city to find a more
holistic solution to handle urban social problems.

Meanwhile, city councillors rejected the accusations that the
bylaw, which was initially drafted by the City Council, would
make Jakarta a closed city, saying that it would only regulate
population administration.

Posman Siahaan of the Justice and Unity Party (PKP) faction,
said that the population bylaw was needed to regulate
overpopulation here.

"We need to regulate the population without turning Jakarta
into a closed city. There are so many people who have been living
here many years but they don't have a Jakarta KTP (Identity
Card).

"Jakarta's responsibility and authority is becoming clearer
with the implementation of regional autonomy," he said.

Chairman of City Council Commission A on legal affairs,
Maringan Pangaribuan, said the bylaw would not turn Jakarta into
a closed city, it would make it easier for the city to provide
services.

"The bylaw will not limit migrants from coming here. But we
will provide different services for those who have a Jakarta ID
and those who do not have it.

"Those who prefer not to have a Jakarta ID will be given
temporary IDs without having the rights to get basic services
such as free medical service.

"By passing the draft into bylaw, we will be able to identify
accurately those who are legal Jakarta residents," he said.

Pangaribuan, a councillor from the Indonesian Democratic Party
of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) faction, also said the commission
would hold a meeting with the City Population Agency to discuss
the bylaw draft.

Tubagus said many residents, due to their ignorance, did not
understand the importance of having an ID.

"There have been no efforts from city officials to publicize
the advantages of having an ID. Not to mention the disadvantages
of not.

"The city's public services are so bad that many people,
especially in the lower income bracket, decided it was pointless
to get an ID."

He also pointed to the fact that city officials have so far
failed to provide cheap, easy and fast service if a resident
wanted to apply for or extend an ID.

"Instead of conducting crackdowns to arrest citizens without
an ID, city officials should launch efforts to inform residents
on the importance of having one.

"It will be even better if they can process ID applications
during such an operation."

The administration routinely orders the ID arrests, dubbed as
Operasi Yustisi, to find those without a Jakarta ID.

Nursyahbani said it was time for Indonesia to have an
integrated, nation-wide population registration system to avoid
the bureaucratic quagmire of various regulations at the regional
level.

"The system is indeed very expensive as it has to be online
and connected to all related agencies and to all regional
administrations. But this system will avoid current practices of
having multiple IDs which is rampant nationally," she said.