Fewer migrants enter city after holiday

Fewer migrants enter city after holiday

Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

With the city doing everything it can to make unskilled migrants
feel unwelcome, the number of migrants arriving in Jakarta
following the Idul Fitri has continued to decline for the last
four years.

City Population and Civil Registration Agency head Chair Abdul
Kadir said about 180,000 migrants had entered the city as of two
weeks after Idul Fitri, the peak of the annual post-holiday
influx of migrants. At the same time last year the number of
migrants arriving in Jakarta was 190,000.

These figure are obtained from the difference in the number of
people who leave town prior to Idul Fitri and the number of
people who return to Jakarta after the holiday.

Though the administration claims these numbers are official,
many critics question the data, asking, for example, how
authorities determine whether the people arriving in Jakarta
after the holiday are job-seeking migrants or simply temporary
visitors to the city.

Governor Sutiyoso has repeatedly called on residents returning
to their hometowns for Idul Fitri not to bring back relatives or
friends when they return to the already-crowded capital.

The governor has blamed the migrants for many of the city's
urban headaches, including housing shortages, unemployment and
flooding.

Though fewer migrants have entered the city looking for work,
the administration has said it will go ahead with house-to-house
raids targeting migrants who cannot produce documents showing
they have a permanent job and residence.

The operation will be launched on Nov. 24 and Nov. 25.

"Every municipality will deploy 60 officers from different
institutions, including the immigration office, public order
agency, military, prosecutor's office, police and district court
judges," Kadir said.

Rented homes and rooms will be among the targets of the
operation, particularly in areas like Jati Pulo in West Jakarta,
Kelapa Gading Barat in North Jakarta, Cipinang Melayu in East
Jakarta and Kalibata in South Jakarta, which are known for large
migrant populations because of their proximity to office and
industrial complexes.

People rounded up during the operation will be tried
immediately at the scene for violating the population regulation.

Bylaw No. 4/2004 on population and civil registration requires
new migrants to register with the population agency no later than
14 days after their arrival in the city. The same bylaw also
stipulates that new migrants who are above the age of 17, or who
are already married, must obtain a visitor's identity card (KIP).
They are also required to show documents certifying that they
have permanent employment and a permanent residence in the city.

Those who violate the bylaw face a maximum sentence of three
months in prison or a Rp 5 million fine. In reality, however,
violators are generally fined between Rp 25,000 and Rp 50,000.

Sutiyoso has also instructed mayors in the five municipalities
in the capital to use the operation to target terrorist suspects.

Number of people leaving and entering the capital around Idul
Fitri

Year Exodus Influx Difference

2002 2,643,273 2,874,801 231,528

2003 2,816,384 3,021,214 204,830

2004 2,213,812 2,404,168 190,356

2005 2,200,000 2,380,000 180,000

Source: City Population and Civil Registration Agency