'Fire is the most effective way to evict people'

'Fire is the most effective way to evict people'

The recent Tanah Abang blaze was one of 98 fires that have
broken out in the city since January this year, which have
claimed a total of seven lives. The fires occurred due in part to
the absence of appropriate fire prevention equipment and above
all, public ignorance and indifference. But, many people suspect
arson. The following people shared their views with The Jakarta
Post:

Haryanto, 40, is a shop assistant in Central Jakarta. He
resides in Tangerang, Banten with his wife and son:

The rampant fires, which have razed many parts of the city,
have strengthened my personal conviction that there is something
irregular behind the fires.

I remember when the traditional market in Blok M, South
Jakarta burned down a few years ago. There were many vendors and
traders who had been pressured to move to another location long
before the blaze, but they resisted.

Then, to my surprise, I saw the place incinerate a few months
later.

I don't go along with the theory that there was something
wrong with the electrical system. If that were true, it was only
used as a trigger to fulfill a certain motive.

Unfair competition among the traders is one probable motive.
In addition, I'm afraid that it was just a conspiracy of the rich
people and businessmen or even those in the city administration
with vested interests. So, what happened in Tanah Abang was a
sort of sabotage, if I may say so.

Maybe, fire is deemed the most effective way to forcibly evict
illegal settlers from a certain area. Many slums that are in
dispute with the city administration end in such fires.

Let's say it was true, then fire is the most practical way to
settle quarrels between land owners and illegal settlers.

Gito, 26, is currently unemployed. He resides with his brother
in Palmerah, West Jakarta:

I think the recent fires in the city are ultimately due to
negligence.

The traders in traditional markets including Tanah Abang,
Senen and other places tend to be careless about potential safety
and security risks.

Worse still, the city administration also has not taken
measures to tackle the risk of fire in those markets. It never
takes measures to raise public awareness on the risk of fire.

The other cause is the attempt to forcibly evict people from
those areas.

However, that's just a personal assumption.

Ayang, 29, is a housewife who resides in Ciledug, Tangerang
with her family:

I suspect that the recent fires, including the fire in Tanah
Abang market in Central Jakarta last week, were triggered by
manmade factors. I mean fire was deemed the most efficient way to
conduct an eviction.

I think fire is the cheapest and yet most effective way to
forcibly move "unwanted" parties. Perhaps persuasion or other
decent ways are relatively more expensive and difficult.

Fire saves the energy and time needed to force people to move
out. On the other hand, it would also benefit the mastermind
because there would be a lucrative construction project following
the blaze.

I don't believe that a short circuit or other factors are to
blame.

I think the city administration has failed to maintain fire
prevention equipment including water hydrants. It'd be better to
allocate some funds to cope with the fire problem.

Jamilus, 25, is an administrative staff in a private company
in Central Jakarta. He lives in Sawangan, West Java with his
family:

I guess the blazes that occurred in Tanah Abang and in other
places in the city recently were intentionally lit. Perhaps this
is just one way for the city administration to get lucrative
business bids to re-develop the market.

But it's time for the city administration to think over not
only how to make money from the market but also to be more
concerned about security and proper safety equipment.

The traders are forced to pay taxes but in return the city
administration fails to provide better services and maintain
safety equipment.

I just wonder how an electrical short circuit could cause such
a huge blaze. It doesn't make any sense to me.

Worse still, people always ignore the fire risks even though
it may put their lives in danger. They don't care about
maintaining facilities such as hydrants.

I think people should be careful about fire risks and other
safety factors.