City to check IDs in weeklong operation

JAKARTA (JP): The city administration will launch a week-long ID card operation in the city's five mayoralties in a bid to check whether newcomers entering the capital have adequate documents, Governor Sutiyoso said on Wednesday.

Sutiyoso said the operation was particularly significant this year because the capital could no longer afford to accommodate newcomers who neither had permanent places to stay nor permanent jobs.

"The more newcomers from other cities that come into the capital, the more difficulty city administration will have in handling the increasing social problems," Sutiyoso said.

Called Operasi Yustisi, the operation is a requirement in fulfilling Gubernatorial Decree No. 160/1998 on guidelines to registration.

The decree states that an individual who intends to reside here should meet certain prerequisites and conditions, including providing official documents stating that the individual has moved from his hometown, a letter guaranteeing a place to reside in the city and work papers.

The annual operation, conducted after the Idul Fitri holiday when many city residents leave the capital to celebrate the festive season in their hometowns, is aimed at netting newcomers who fail to produce ID cards, travel documents from village officials and report their arrival to subdistrict heads.

Meanwhile, Sjahrin Lumban Toruan, head of the city population agency, said the number of newcomers entering the capital this year reached about 234,000, up from the estimated 225,000 in the corresponding period last year.

"This does not necessarily mean that the 234,000 newcomers will reside here. Jakarta could just be a transit area for them," Sjahrin said on Thursday.

The figure, he said, was calculated from the difference between those leaving and those entering the city during the festive season through bus terminals, train stations, Tanjung Priok seaport, by airplane and private vehicles on public highways and on toll roads.

Sjahrin explained that when Operasi Yustisi was completed, his agency with the help of the five mayors, district and subdistrict heads, would conduct another operation to ensure that newcomers follow the capital's regulation on population.

"For that, all of the capital's residents are advised to have their administration papers, ID cards and other related documents on hand." (ylt)