'I don't want to pay if I get no benefit'

City tap water operator PD PAM Jaya has proposed an increase of tap water rates by 30 percent. The public reaction has been strong with most delivering the same message, that the tap water operator must improve its service if it wants to increase its rate. The Jakarta Post talked with some people on the issue.

Marni, 40, sells tofu in the Palmerah market, Central Jakarta. She lives in a rented house in Kemanggisan, West Jakarta, with her husband and six children:

I usually pay from Rp 15,000 (US$1.76) to Rp 20,000 for tap water every month. But, during the last two months, the tap water in my place is often not running. I never bother to report it because I also have a pump, so I can still obtain groundwater.

There's nothing I can do if the administration wants to increase the water price. I'll just go along with the government's decision. I'm not an important person anyway.

Monique, is an employee of a private bank. She lives in Kebayoran Baru, South Jakarta, with her husband, father and a cousin:

The tap water that runs in my house is of such poor quality that we prefer to drink mineral water.

I read in the newspapers that the proposed increase of tap water rate is mainly earmarked to pay the tap water company's huge debts to its foreign partners. Why the never-ending increase of rate in the last few years could not cover the debt? I suspect mismanagement here.

Even if I could afford the increase, I don't want to pay more if I get no benefit.

Ahmad, 35, is a chicken noodle vendor in the Palmerah market, Central Jakarta. He lives in Palmerah with his wife and 17-month- old baby:

My water bill each month is around Rp 30,000 (US$3.5). I use water a lot because I have a baby... and to wash my cart and the bowls.

If the increase is only 10 percent, it is still tolerable. But 30 percent?

I think it is way too high and the price will be too expensive for me. Everything is so expensive now and water is an important need for people.

-- The Jakarta Post