Hoodlums told to find a better profession
Hoodlums told to find a better profession
JAKARTA (JP): Governor Sutiyoso said on Tuesday that hoodlums
should find better professions and stop harassing city residents.
"Those of you who consider yourselves hoodlums, please change
your profession to something which is legitimate," Sutiyoso said
at City Hall.
"The city administration will do its best to create more job
opportunities for all jobless city residents. There should be no
place for hoodlums in Jakarta."
Sutiyoso was speaking in reference to an averted street brawl
between two gangs on Sunday at Tanah Abang traditional market in
Central Jakarta.
Sparked by escalating competition between the groups, dozens
of local market hoodlums armed with machetes and iron rods were
ready to have a showdown with a rival Madurese gang.
The Madurese were also preparing sharp weapons, when the
arrival of dozens of security officers put a stop to the
possibility of a brawl breaking out.
Eddy, a trader at the site, said members of the Madurese gang
had been taking money for years from unregistered street vendors
surrounding the Tanah Abang Market, and had never shared any of
the money with the local hoodlums.
Unregistered street vendors, whose number is estimated at
20,000 in the capital, have repeatedly complained that city
administration officials often threaten their lives when
demanding payoffs.
Meanwhile, driver Rachman, a former preman (hoodlum), said
Sutiyoso did not know what he was talking about.
"Nobody aspires to be a preman... when we are hungry, we will
do anything," he said.
Rachman added that former governor Ali Sadikin would never
have tolerated hoodlums.
"One day, my friends, most of them scalpers like me, were
rounded up by Bang Ali himself. He slapped some of us and then
rounded us up," Rachman said.
"He asked us what we were and we were so afraid of him, we
told him the truth. He liked our honesty. He gave us jobs...
from cleaning boys to street parking attendants. I'll never
forget him." (ylt/asa)