Jakarta: Headache remains

To most people coming from the rural areas, Jakarta's allure lies in more than its glitter. It is a city of hope and opportunity that holds the promise of a better life. Of course, such hopes are often not substantiated. However, the fact that Jakarta is becoming an ever greater lure to the rural populace is causing serious headaches for the city administration.

The ugly side of urbanization is symbolized by the mushrooming of shanty towns, counteracting the governments efforts to modernize the city. Indeed, turning Jakarta into a modern metropolis has become something of a mission sacre, since Jakarta is not only the seat of government of a fast developing nation but also an important industrial hub and cultural center.

Ironically, the city's advantages have also become its weaknesses. The slum areas are a major eyesore and the rush of unskilled labor into the city continues unabated, making the already gaping social gap more and more apparent. The soaring crime rate, the shortage of clean water and the lack of an adequate traffic system have made the problem even worse. One governor after another since the birth of the New Order government in the late 1960s has tried their best to conquer all the problems, but with little success.

The present governor of Jakarta, Surjadi Soedirdja, disclosed in his statement welcoming the 467th anniversary of the city, which occurs today, that he would try hard to curb the migration of unskilled people from the rural areas, rid the city of the ugly slums and build apartment buildings to house the squatters.

His predecessors tried to improve the poor sectors of the city by introducing kampong improvement projects. The program, which started in 1984, has scored some impressive results. Apartment buildings have risen all over the city, even in areas where poverty prevails. Yet the overall population situation has grown worse.

In his program to combat this problem, Surjadi said he would order the entire city apparatus to try to quickly detect the emergence of any new slum pockets and that he would work together with other provincial administrations in an effort to deter unskilled people from moving into Jakarta.

We recognize a serious and admirable intent in Governor Surjadi's. Nevertheless, we hope the governor will be more down- to-earth in his observation of Jakarta's populace. Plans to utilize the city apparatus to curb the mushrooming of the slums have failed through a number of gubernatorial administrations. This is because the officers in charge at the subdistrict and district levels have failed to cooperate. They not only allow newly arrived squatters to occupy government land and erect shanties there, they also provide them with ID cards.

This is also the case with land belonging to the railway company, much of which has been occupied by squatters for decades.

We wish Governor Surjadi every success in the execution of his programs, but making every officer toe the government line is no easy job. Many mayors are even reluctant to check the situation on the spot.

What makes his job even more difficult is the fact that this influx is merely one of the negative sides of inequitable development. As long as the rural population are unable to make ends meet in the provinces, migration into the urban areas remains the rural population's best hope for a better life.

Those people believe that Jakarta is a place of affluence where the streets are paved with gold. The reality is that many of these people will be living in shanties on streets paved with asphalt, because apartments and houses are out of their price range.