Number of poor Jakartans trebles

JAKARTA (JP): The number of Jakartans living beneath the poverty level has more than trebled to 861,000, or nearly 10 percent of the total population of 9.3 million, since 1996, according to the Jakarta Central Bureau of Statistics.

The head of the bureau's population section, Rusmandesiar, said over the weekend the number was only 231,000 in 1996.

Rusmandesiar said the sharp increase was caused mainly by the prolonged economic crisis which started hitting the country in the middle of last year.

"Many people have lost their jobs during the crisis. The sharp drop in their income hinders them from purchasing basic food commodities," he said.

The figure was different from data released earlier by the Jakarta office of the National Family Planning Board (BKKBN), which said that the number of poor people living in the city currently totaled 1.4 million.

Rusmandesiar said his office calculated its figure with a poverty level set at Rp 76,400 per month per family -- equal to 2,100 calories per day and basic non-food expenses like education, transport and housing.

In 1996, such basic needs were set at Rp 50,280 per month. (ind)