Monas street vendors fight the law to survive

Monas street vendors fight the law to survive

JAKARTA (JP): Street vendors may not appear to have much in
common with heavyweight businesspeople, but both are involved in
the same game of survival of the fittest in the city where money
talks.

While many people allege it is common practice for tycoons to
bribe state officials, money is also what allows illegal vendors
to survive despite their being viewed as the main source of
public disorder.

The traders display their goods, park their carts and set up
their tents along the city's streets, blocking pedestrians and
contributing to the capital's already nerve-wracking traffic
jams.

City public order officers frequently raid street vendors and
chase them from the streets, confiscating their carts and goods.

But these efforts often prove less than effective, and in less
then two hours the vendors have usually returned with their carts
and tents.

One of the main areas of operation for the public order
officers is the National Monument (Monas) in Central Jakarta. The
latest raid here took place about two weeks ago.

It was business as usual at Monas on Tuesday, with at least 10
vendors waiting for customers along the western part of the
monument facing Jl. Medan Merdeka Barat. More vendors had set up
shop around the other areas of Monas.

"We have nowhere else to go," said Rokib, 25, who sells
ketoprak, a traditional Jakarta food consisting of bean sprouts,
tofu, rice noodles and peanut sauce.

Rokib has been working at Monas for six years since arriving
in Jakarta from his hometown of Pamekasan on Madura, an island
off East Java.

He has long become accustomed to crackdowns on street traders,
saying he has been caught by public order officers five times.
But he was quick to add that he always managed to bounce back.

"My cart is still being held by officers who confiscated it in
the latest raid. I haven't been able to get it back yet because I
don't have much money now. Thankfully, I have two carts," Rokib
told The Jakarta Post.

It will cost him between Rp 150,000 (US$13.64) and Rp 200,000
to retrieve his cart. The amount is, of course, unofficial.

According to Say'inqodir, a bakwan (soup with meatballs)
vendor, the official fine is Rp 35,000 ($3.18).

"That's if our goods are still being held in the court. But
once they're taken to Cakung the price soars. The officers extort
us," he said.

Cakung is a warehouse in East Jakarta where public order
officials keep confiscated goods.

Another vendor, Imam, said selling bottled tea was a riskier
proposition because you had to rent the cart from a distributor,
meaning being caught in a raid could cost you double.

"Besides bribing public order officers, the owner of the cart
will ask for compensation. Once I had to pay the owner some Rp
300,000. That's why I started selling iced coconut drinks," he
said.

Through experience, the vendors have learned many ways to
escape arrest.

If running is impossible because public order officers, armed
with sticks, are giving chase in vehicles, the traders often take
refuge in nearby police stations.

"It works because the officers are afraid of the police,"
Rokib added.

Second Brig. Ian, who was on duty at a police station near
Monas, said pity moved him to help the street vendors.

"It's illegal to trade here, but the vendors are only trying
to make money during the crisis. Besides, if there were no
vendors here where would we (police) go to buy food?" he said.

The vendors were all in agreement that they would rather set
up shop somewhere other than Monas, which they said was less
crowded than it once was.

"It's hard to even sell 10 plates of ketoprak a day. I want to
sell in an office, but where? There are already vendors
everywhere. I'd pay if I had to," Rokib said, adding that he only
earns about Rp 50,000 a day, which is just enough to cover his
expenses. (hdn)