'Councillors are supposed to represent the poor'

While many people in Jakarta live below the poverty line, the city administration plans to spend approximately Rp 63 billion a year on the monthly housing allowances of councillors. The Jakarta Post asked people for their opinion on the issue.

Supandi, 64, has been homeless for 25 years. He sleeps near the railway tracks, alternating every few days between Palmerah, West Jakarta, and Tanah Abang, Central Jakarta:

The councillors are just taking money away from the people they represent. Over Rp 15 million just for housing each month? It's outrageous. Most families live on Rp 500,000 each month, which they use to pay for food and their children's education. That's why I stopped voting and believing in the government decades ago. Politicians don't do anything for the people, they just act in their own interests.

In the end everyone will die, whether a councillor or a homeless person. I believe my life's journey, although a constant struggle, has been on a righteous path. Whether or not the councillors can say the same, only God knows.

Kasdi Hadisuwito, 78, has been a street vendor for the past 40 years. He lives with his wife in Palmerah, West Jakarta, and has three great-grandchildren:

By taking the money the councillors are just making people like me suffer more. These so-called representatives are just enriching themselves, squeezing more and more money from the people.

As a citizen, I have always voted in elections, but none of the politicians are representing my interests.

Just look at the way they are treating street vendors like me, kicking us around from place to place.

I have lived through the Dutch and Japanese occupancy, and trust me, the way the city treats us is much worse than either of those two.

--The Jakarta Post