Mayor Asserts Illegal Levies and Thuggery Must Not Exist in Yogyakarta
The Mayor of Yogyakarta, Hasto Wardoyo, has emphasised that illegal levies (pungli) and practices of thuggery must not occur within Yogyakarta City. This assertion was made in response to an alleged case of extortion experienced by the business ‘Bolosego’ while attempting to operate a food truck in the Alun-Alun Selatan (Alkid) area of Yogyakarta.
Hasto asserted that such practices must be eradicated. “In principle, in Yogyakarta, there must be no illegal levies; that is important. There should be no illegal collections, and there should be no presence of thuggery,” Hasto stated during an interview at the Yogyakarta City Hall Complex on Monday (21/09/2026).
The Yogyakarta City Government, he continued, is obligated to ensure the city remains healthy, orderly, and safe. Therefore, Hasto emphasised that the issues of illegal levies and thuggery will be a primary focus for the administration.
Hasto also stated that the public should not hesitate to report any findings of illegal levies or acts perceived as extortion. He noted that citizens could submit reports through various available channels.
“I believe that through my ‘open house’ approach, we have created avenues for grievances at any time via JSS (Jogja Smart Service) or any other means. If there are insufficient channels, they can come to meet me; I am available every Wednesday,” he said. “By doing so, if illegal levies or any forms of extortion occur, it is better that they are reported.”
A video featuring the testimony of micro, small, and medium enterprise (MSME) owner Bolosego regarding alleged illegal levies while operating a food truck in Alun-Allan Selatan recently went viral on social media. The owner of Bolosego, Dyah Laily Fardisa, shared her experience via a TikTok video uploaded on 17 September 2026. In the video, Dyah stated that her business had only operated for one day in Alun-Alun Selatan before deciding to withdraw the food truck, despite the activity being planned for five days (16–20 September 2026).
Dyah mentioned that one of the primary issues faced was a demand for parking fees from certain ‘unscrupulous’ parking attendants. According to her account, they were initially asked to pay Rp2.5 million per day. After negotiations, the amount was reduced to Rp1 million per day, totalling Rp5 million for the five-day period. “The illegal levies are numerous. We were asked to pay Rp1 million per day for parking, totalling Rp5 million; that was already after a negotiation process. Initially, the parking attendants asked for Rp2.5 million per day, which would have totalled Rp12.5 million for five days,” she explained.
Responding to the viral video, Mayor Hasto Wardoyo expressed his concern. He stated that the Yogyakarta City Government would follow up on the allegations and identify the parties responsible for demanding the money from the business owner. “I am concerned. We have been trying to regularise such matters, but they continue to emerge in several locations,” he said on Friday (18/09/2026).
Hasto noted that the alleged incident in Alun-Alun Selatan was not the first of its kind. He mentioned that similar issues had occurred previously during a City Government-organised MSME event for ‘Mustika Rasa’ in Alun-Alun Selatan, where unreasonable parking fee demands were also reported.