City vows to curb flow of newcomers

City vows to curb flow of newcomers

JAKARTA (JP): The only way to curb the post-Idul Fitri influx
of newcomers to the capital is to enforce the provincial decree
on population effectively, according to the city's governor.

Governor Surjadi Soedirdja was speaking yesterday in reference
to the habit of returning Jakartans bringing back relatives or
friends who want to seek jobs in the city.

Surjadi said he has ordered all the 265 subdistrict heads to
be aware of the newcomers in their areas and take necessary steps
based on the decree.

"Take proper action soon before they (the newcomers) settle
here," he said.

Surjadi said the decree on population stipulates that
newcomers are obliged to possess various documents such as
guarantee letters of employment and accommodation in Jakarta.
Without such documents newcomers are not allowed to live in
Jakarta, which now has a population nine million people.

"The regulation is aimed at preventing people from becoming
squatters or beggars. We have enough of them here. They are
always chased away by officials of the City Social Affairs
Office," he said.

The City Population Office, in cooperation with the City
Public Order Office, always conducts operations to apprehend
beggars and send them back to their hometowns.

The population office estimates that the 3.5 million Jakartans
who returned to their hometowns for the Idul Fitri celebration
will return with about 300,000 newcomers this year.

Last year, three million people left the city for similar
celebrations and came back with some 300,000 relatives and
friends.

In 1993 almost 315,000 newcomers entered Jakarta. The City
Population Office has never provided accurate records on how many
of the newcomers settled in the capital and how many went back to
their hometowns after failing to survive in the capital.

The governor has indicated that most of the newcomers are
unskilled people who will find it hard to survive in the city.

The city administration has found it difficult to curb the
influx of newcomers despite its continuous programs describing
the harsh living conditions in Jakarta. It has been cooperating
with a number of city administrations in West, Central and East
Java and South Sumatra to prevent too great an influx of
newcomers.

People who meet the city population's requirements can obtain
temporary citizenship cards which are valid for six months before
they get permanent Jakarta's IDs.

The city administration has been issuing about 75,000 new
citizenship cards for newcomers per year since 1989 .(yns)