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.