Councilors want end to Tanah Abang thuggery

JAKARTA (JP): City councilors urged the municipality yesterday to crack down on the Tanah Abang hoodlums who have for decades controlled the Tanah Abang market in Central Jakarta.

Djafar Badjeber, the head of Commission B for economic affairs, said yesterday that the existence of hoodlums could no longer be tolerated.

"Hoodlums must be wiped out as their activities have gone too far," he said. "They are civilians but they have created their own territory and act as if they own Tanah Abang.

"A concerted effort should be made in coordination with the Jakarta Agency for the Coordination of Support for the Development of National Stability (Bakorstanasda) to take firm action against them."

Councilors of Commission A for administrative affairs visited the market Thursday and witnessed hoodlums operating gambling sites and safeguarding prostitution activities around the area.

The day after their visit, a riot broke out in Tanah Abang, with dozens of angry hoodlums blockading one of the nearby streets and pelting the officers who arrested eight of their friends for gambling.

The unrest forced sidewalk vendors operating in the area to grab their merchandise and flee when the hoodlums turned on them.

"They are crazy," Djafar said. "How can hoodlums be allowed to establish their own gambling and prostitution sites? When officials try to stop them, they just resist.

"I think the city administration has already been too patient in handling this case. That is why we need tougher action to eradicate them."

Djafar said preventative action had been taken in the past but nothing seemed to work and the situation in Tanah Abang continued to deteriorate.

"So I appeal to the municipality to be consistent in its handling of this matter, while at the same time protect vendors and traffic around the area from intimidation by hoodlums," he said.

Councilor Ade Suraprijatna said yesterday that the best way to deal with hoodlums was for the municipality to take a new approach.

"The officials must not hesitate to punish them. We are living in country which has laws," Ade said. "The issue is not who's powerful or who's not but about who is wrong and who is right."

If the officials do their jobs halfheartedly, no wonder the hoodlums are not afraid of them, he said.

"In order to maintain the power of officials, the practices of collusion must be eliminated."

According to data from the city's public order office, 26 hoodlums were arrested in a series of operations this year compared to 652 hoodlums arrested last year.

Toha Reno, head of the city's order and entertainment subdivision office, said yesterday: "The small number of hoodlums arrested this year does not mean that Tanah Abang is safe. On the contrary, the area is still prone to riots because many hoodlums are still controlling the area,"

Toha underlined the importance of an integrated plan to eliminate hoodlums.

"There should be a unified approach, where all hoodlums, leaders or followers are treated the same. In some cases, because hoodlum leaders are well connected, they were allowed to go free. Those who were detained were usually just the followers," he said.

"Based on City Bylaw No.11/88, hoodlums, along with other social outcasts such as prostitutes, transvestites, vagrants, beggars and illegal brokers, could be charged with minor crimes.

"But in many cases it is impossible to charge them because they don't have money to pay the fines. If they are all put in jail, the penitentiaries will be full," he said.

Usually they are sent to a rehabilitation center where they undergo a program, he said.

"That is the best thing we can do right now."

He said there are no adequate laws which offer deterrents such as heavy fines and lengthy jail terms, so hoodlums continue to operate.

"They really burden the municipality and society. It's hard for us, the officials, to cope with all the problems because of limited manpower and a heavy workload." (07)