Layoffs feared to spark urban violence

YOGYAKARTA (JP): The massive layoffs brought about by the current economic crisis may trigger more violence in urban areas as the competition for jobs in the lower economic strata increases, an economist warned here yesterday.

"There will be more competition among pedicab drivers, street vendors, angkot (public transportation) drivers, urban have- nots... violence is unavoidable," Revrisond Baswir of Gadjah Mada University told a discussion on People's Economic Prospects in 1998 held at the Legal Aid Institute's office here.

Reports have estimated that at least one million workers have been laid off in Greater Jakarta alone.

In East and Central Java, thousands of workers have already been dismissed from their jobs.

The drastic appreciation of the dollar against regional currencies, including the rupiah, has led to an economic slowdown in Indonesia.

Revrisond said the agricultural sector would be an alternative for those who have found themselves jobless, but warned that this sector would also suffer should the national economy worsen.

He said the agricultural sector was always the government's "bumper", allowing it to soak up thousands of unemployed people.

But Revrisond believes that subsidies in this sector, such as on fertilizer, would be cut if the situation worsens.

"In this case, villagers who have just suffered from the drought would become more frustrated and greater urbanization will occur.

"It will be a national disaster if we fail to cope with these problems," Revrisond warned.

Revrisond called for a war against corruption and collusion at the state level to make it more efficient.

"It's not enough for the government to just call for a modest living amid this crisis," he said while urging the government to sponsor more labor intensive projects. (44)