Pedicab ban in line with Sukarno's hope, says Ali

Pedicab ban in line with Sukarno's hope, says Ali

JAKARTA (JP): Former governor Ali Sadikin testified on Monday
that the banning of becak (pedicabs) in Jakarta was in line with
the hope of late president Sukarno that Jakarta would become one
of the world's top cities.

"I issued decrees in 1970 which banned pedicabs until the end
of my term as governor in 1977, and I am thankful that the
decision I took was carried on by my successors," Ali, who served
as governor for 11 years, from 1966 to 1977, told a Central
Jakarta District Court hearing.

Presided over by judge Manis Sudjono, the hearing concerned a
lawsuit filed in February by 139 pedicab drivers who claimed to
be acting on behalf of 6,000 of Jakarta's becak drivers. The suit
was against Governor Sutiyoso, who prohibited them from operating
in the capital.

Ali continued: "This city is overpopulated by residents from
outside Jakarta, who come looking for work and end up congesting
the capital and driving pedicabs. I plead to those non-Jakartan
residents to find other means of earning money, by abiding to
existing regulations."

He added that city residents needed to know that City Bylaw No
11/1988, which prohibits pedicabs from operating in Jakarta, was
a "product of the City Council" and issued later by Governor
Sutiyoso.

"City transportation management is at its worst and I ask city
residents to accept the fact that transportation here needs to be
managed properly.

If pedicabs are allowed to operate here, it could worsen
transportation problems," Ali said.

"I ask city residents to consider the public interest first."

Prosecutor Daniel Panjaitan of the Foundation of the
Indonesian Legal Aid Institute (YLBHI), rebuked Ali, however,
saying the former governor was prioritizing public interests over
human rights.

Ali replied: "Don't link every small thing to a human rights
violation."

Later in the evening, Daniel said in a news release that Ali's
"discriminative" statement at the district court hearing was in
conflict with the fact that Ali himself was a member of the YLBHI
board of trustees.

"We, workers of the law, are very disappointed in his
statements since he has clearly shown his discriminative side to
human rights," Daniel said.

In their lawsuit, the pedicab drivers demanded that the
governor allow them to operate in certain areas in the city, such
as at housing complexes and traditional markets.

In a previous hearing, Sutiyoso -- in his defense statement --
rejected the plaintiffs' statement, which accused the
administration of having resorted to violence in clearing the
becak from the city.

The administration has offered to pay the pedicab drivers Rp
250,000 each if they were willing to voluntarily hand over the
pedicabs to the government, the governor said in the defense
statement.

The offer, Sutiyoso said, was evidence of the city
administration's nonviolent approach.

According to the statement, the Jakarta administration also
offered training to the pedicab drivers so that they could find
other jobs.

The governor claimed that the drivers had agreed to the
proposals.

"A total of 2,978 pedicab drivers have handed over their
pedicabs, while 1,694 others have returned to their hometowns,"
he said in the statement. (ylt)