Number of poor Jakartans trebles

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)