Government told to prove its commitment to the poor
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
No less than 1,000 people joined a global action against poverty here on Friday, calling on the government to scrap all policies that they deemed failed to protect the poor.
They demanded that the government pay more attention to efforts to provide free health care and education for those living below the poverty line, which they said remained largely elusive.
Braving the scorching heat, they marched from their meeting point in front of Hotel Indonesia, then went to the nearby Japanese Embassy, before moving on to the office of Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare on Jl. Medan Merdeka Barat and the State Palace on Jl. Medan Merdeka Selatan.
Several artists and politicians took part in the rally, held a week before developed countries grouped under G8 meet in Scotland on July 7.
Popular TV star Rieke Dyah Pitaloka read a poem from the back of a pick-up truck. Other participants sang songs and gave martial arts displays.
"We aim to put pressure on the government and the G8 nations to formulate concrete measures to halve the poverty rate by 2015," said Ratna Yunita, executive assistant for the International NGO Forum on Indonesian Development (INFID).
Another NGO activist, Wahyu Jatmiko, said the rally served as another reminder for the government to revoke Presidential Regulation No. 36/2005 on the acquisition of land for public interests, which he said would discriminate against the poor.
The government has ruled out scrapping the regulation, saying it would protect people from land speculators and that it was not intended to evict people. Some infrastructure construction projects have stalled due to resistance from a small number of people, a minister complained.
Housewives from various areas across Jakarta also joined the rally on Friday.
A mother of four children, Wati, 35, came all the way from Cengkareng to take part in the rally, saying she dreamed of having a better life.
She said that she and her family lived in a rented room that cost them Rp 150,000 (US$15.60) per month.
"My husband's income is not enough to cover our daily needs. We often borrow from our neighbors," said Wati, adding that she cooked only two liters of rice for all family members every day.
Wati's husband collects firewood and unused materials from early in the morning to evening, only bringing home about Rp 35,000.
Poverty has been blamed for malnutrition affecting a number of provinces, claiming dozens of lives of young children over the last six months. (004)