Jakarta's anniversary climax missing festive mood

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The all-night parties on the eve of Jakarta's 476th anniversary, which fell on Sunday, apparently took a bite out of the festive mood for many city residents, due to a lack of publicity.

Hundreds of members of Forum Betawi Rembug (FBR), an organization of native Jakartans, marked the celebrations by staging a noisy rally in the capital on Sunday.

Clad in black attire, a color used by Betawi foremen in the past, the FBR members gathered at the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle to hold a forum of free speeches, urging "migrant Jakartans" to play a role in maintaining security in the city.

With a pair of ondel-ondel (life-size Betawi puppets) and a set of bedug (a large drum), the group, known for its notorious stance against migrant Jakartans, occupied the traffic circle, disrupting traffic.

Earlier in the day, hundreds of residents gathered in the National Monument (Monas) park, where a bazaar was held in some sections. However, not all of the visitors were aware that June 22 was the climax of celebrations marking the city's anniversary.

"I take my family here on Sunday mornings for a walk. We had no plan to join in the festivities here," Tatang, who is an employee with a private company in Tomang, West Jakarta, told The Jakarta Post.

Similarly, not many other residents enjoying the day in Monas knew about the city's anniversary celebrations, citing a lack of publicity.

Also on the occasion of the city's anniversary, the City Council convened a special plenary meeting on Sunday to hear speeches from Governor Sutiyoso and Minister of Home Affairs Hari Sabarno on the developments that Jakarta had achieved so far since last year.

In his speech, Sutiyoso claimed the city had made momentous progress in initiating the "Jakarta Green 2003" campaign, which includes renovating Monas park and other city parks.

It was proof that the city administration was aware of the environment, he said.

However, the governor did not mention his much-criticized plan to reclaim land in the northern coastal area, which State Minister for the Environment Nabiel Makarim and other critics said would further damage the environment.

Sutiyoso also failed to allay widespread public concern in his speech on the city's increasing crime rate, which has been blamed on the nation's prolonged economic crisis and a lack of police personnel.

He came under fire for his administration's move to carry out identity checks on migrants, which analysts said particularly targeted Acehnese separatists fleeing the war in their province.