'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.