'Jakarta not safe at all for residents'

'Jakarta not safe at all for residents'

The bomb blast on Monday has shocked many as it occurred at a
building within the National Police Headquarters, which is
supposed to be invulnerable to such attacks. The explosion
clearly illustrates that the city is not a secure and comfortable
place to live. The Jakarta Post talked to some residents about
security issues in Jakarta:

Aldo, 17, is in his second year at Regina Pacis Senior High
School in Palmerah, West Jakarta. He lives in Joglo, West
Jakarta, with his family:

Personally I admit that I don't feel secure when I walk alone
in public places in Jakarta. Even on the toll roads, I'm worried
about possible threats from street thugs.

Personally, I don't see any serious measures taken by the
police or other law enforcers to cope with security problems in
the city. There are still many corrupt police officers who
neglect their responsibility and just look for easy money.

I hate the highway police patrol. I had a bad experience where
an officer asked me to pay Rp 150,000 (US$16.6) for a traffic
violation. I handed him a Rp 50,000 bill, but he rejected it.

I told him then that I'd prefer to bring the case to court to
seek a legal settlement. Finally, he agreed to take the Rp
50,000. Since then I hate the traffic police.

How can they perform their duty to safeguard the city if they
are only busy in extorting money from people? I wonder what's the
difference between such police officers and hoodlums.

The latest bombing incident has made me even more scared when
I have to go out alone in the city.

I hope Monday's bomb blast will teach the police a lesson in
improving security in the city.

Agung, 32, is an employee of a private company in Central
Jakarta. He resides in Bekasi with his wife and daughter:

I reckon that the city is not safe at all for residents,
including commuters like me.

Many times, my colleagues tell me sad stories of being robbed
by street criminals. Usually, the criminals threaten them with
knives.

I saw one incident myself when I was in a public minivan. The
man sitting next to me was hypnotized by five robbers who
pretended to give him promotional leaflets. I didn't dare help,
so I just got out of the minivan.

The only way to minimize such incidents is perhaps by
increasing our alertness when we are in public places. No one can
guarantee our safety but ourselves, right? Nobody can be trusted,
even the police.

But in a way, I can understand why the police cannot provide
security for the whole city as the ratio between the police and
the population is not realistic.

Worse still, economic hardship is contributing to the alarming
increase in criminality in the city.

I agree with the idea of reviving the shoot-on-sight policy
against crooks to protect Jakarta from malicious criminals.

Forget about human rights activists. They are always against
the policy because they have never experienced the feelings of
the victims. They don't realize that our right to feel secure has
been violated by the merciless crooks.

Engkus, 38, is a sidewalk vendor selling cigarettes and soft
drinks in Pancoran, South Jakarta. He comes from Kuningan in West
Java:

Honestly speaking, I don't pay too much attention to the
security situation in Jakarta because I have to keep my kiosk
open around the clock. I'm hardly able to leave my kiosk.

So, I don't know much about safety in the city. At least, as
far as I am concerned, I feel safe to work here. I have been
working here since 1987. There are no significant crimes that I
have seen happening around here.

But I don't know about the future. There are likely to be
alarming crimes due to the worsening economic hardships faced by
people.

I think the police have tried to safeguard the city although
there are some police officers who neglect their key tasks as
protectors of the people in the city.

The explosion at the police headquarters on Monday should
make the police more serious in handling security problems here.

--Leo Wahyudi S.