'Kerak Telor' vendors protest PRJ

'Kerak Telor' vendors protest PRJ

JAKARTA: Dozens of vendors of Kerak Telor (a Betawi traditional dish of baked rice and egg), lodged a protest over the weekend with the Jakarta Fair organizing committee over its decision to ban them from trading inside the fairground in Central Jakarta.

Mustofa, 65, one of the Kerak Telor vendors, expressed disappointment that he and his friends were not allowed to enter the fair ground unlike in previous years.

"In 1998, I was allowed to enter the fair ground after I paid Rp 200,000 for a special identity tag (to do business there). But this year, the organizers refused saying that the ground had been fully booked," Mustofa said.

According to Mustofa, he and his friends, who have now set up their stalls outside the fairground, were ready to pay up to Rp 350,000 to the organizers if they were allowed to trade in the fairground.

Organizers said that over 1,500 participants are taking part in this year's Jakarta Fair.

Governor Sutiyoso has told the organizers to provide space for street vendors, including the Kerak Telor vendors, in the fairground. "We should continue to have Kerak Telor, which has become a tradition of the PRJ," said Sutiyoso over the weekend.