'Govt to blame for urbanization'

In a bid to keep unskilled migrant workers out of Jakarta, the city administration is planning to raid residential areas where they are suspected of living. Some observers have raised concerns about the policy, arguing that it violates people's rights of movement guaranteed under the Constitution. The Jakarta Post interviewed two people on Wednesday for their views on the issue.

Frans Thamura, 30, is an IT consultant and open-source software advocate. He lives in South Jakarta.

I don't think it's fair for the city government to make urbanization illegal, particularly because (the government) has never created a comprehensive program to develop human resources in other regions.

IT in the regions, for example, is far behind that of Jakarta, so much so that you can't make a living from IT in the regions.

Why can't the government ever be fair towards people in the regions? Why won't government officials think about regional development rather than their own stomachs? They should be ashamed of themselves.

Afif Farisi, 25, is a Masters Degree student at the University of Indonesia majoring in information and technology. He lives in Cibubur, Depok.

Well, I think it puts migrants in a dilemma. On one hand they need money to survive, and Jakarta is by far the best place for people to look for money.

On the other hand, migrants don't realize that with their limited living skills, Jakarta can instead mean disaster, and not only for these people but also for the city administration.

But I don't think raids and dragnets are the answers, these methods only create new kinds of "criminals".

I think the best way is to evenly distribute the circulation of money across the country. If the government could be more daring in decentralizing businesses and the government, and could convince investors that the regions are also lucrative areas for business, perhaps things would be different then.

-- The Jakarta Post