Most Jakartans can afford proper housing: Official

JAKARTA (JP): City administration officials said yesterday that most Jakarta residents can afford proper housing.

"It's just a matter of choice," M. Yanis, head of the Central Jakarta mayoralty's public relations department, told The Jakarta Post.

Ability depends very much on one's legal status and the legal status of one's land, he said. Squatters, migrant workers and illegal residents are not the mayoralty's responsibility.

According to Yanis, most Jakartans earn more than Rp 5,200 per day, which is the daily minimum wage stipulated by the government. With this, he said, Jakartans should be able to afford the subsidized housing and other forms of housing available.

But many Jakartans, especially those from low income families, have sold their land rights to those who can afford the units. In the Central Jakarta district of Bendungan Hilir, for example, most of the 375 residents, whose shanties were destroyed by fire last year, have sold their land to the city for apartment buildings.

Yanis said many people who appear to live an impoverished life in the city are actually quite wealthy in their hometowns, to where they generally transfer all their wealth.

"Many people minimize spending while maximizing gain, preferring to live in slums as a way to minimize rent," Yanis added. "Some of them can actually afford big houses back in their hometowns."

"If we look at demographics, only about 10 percent of Jakarta's residents live below the poverty line," Yanis said.

According to Yanis, the purpose of urban renewal is to bring development in the capital up to par with cities in the more advanced countries in the world.

The government said those residents whose houses were demolished as a result of "urban renewal" will be given first crack at new apartment units.

Building apartments is part of the government's ongoing plan to reduce the number of slum areas in the city. Compensation for lands lost depends on a number things, including the location and legal status of he property as well as the legal status of those situated on the land. (14)