Public order agency turns 46
Public order agency turns 46
JAKARTA (JP): One may wonder what the real job of the city
public order officials is.
Not many people are well informed about the public order
office. All people generally know is that the officials are seen
at every demolition, raids on prostitutes, vendors and beggars or
closure of entertainment centers.
Nobody seems to care that the city public order agency turned
46 years on March 3, and nobody is really aware of its problems
and achievements. Many may even think that the city doesn't ever
change: Prostitutes and beggars still hang around, entertainment
centers still violate operation hours, there is still illegal
construction, and shantytowns are still springing up.
"We need more personnel," AF. Lapian, from the public order
office, said over the weekend.
"Ideally, the office should have at least 975 people to deal
with the complicated problems we get in five mayoralties. At the
moment we have only 655 officials who are still active and 108
who are too old to conduct their daily duty," he said.
Lapian also said that the authority of the public order
officials is limited and this is caused by their unclear status.
"The officials are not like policemen. We have no authority to
arrest people. We were founded to safeguard the implementation of
gubernatorial decrees on public order, including cleanliness," he
said.
The 655 officials have to keep eye on more than 3,000
entertainment centers, such as discotheques, massage parlors and
restaurants, not to mention public places such as markets and
parks.
Dark story
People should not forget the report of public order officials
raping a house maid last month, after the maid was mistakenly
picked up in an official crackdown.
The housemaid who was picked up for having no ID card was
raped by a man who had joined the operation for fun. The alleged
rapist reportedly paid Rp 10,000 to one of the officials.
The case made headlines for days because the raped woman, who
is not a prostitute, reported the crime to the police.
The head of the office, Kuseini Budiantoro, denied his staff's
involvement in the rape, but later said two officials would be
fired for being aware of the plan to rape the woman. No one has
been tried or fired in connection with the rape.
What if the raped woman is a prostitute?
"It is the custom. Prostitutes serve the officials when we are
caught in a crackdown," Sami (not her real name), a prostitute in
Tanah Abang bus terminal, told The Jakarta Post over the weekend.
Newcomers without pimps or backup usually have to pay between
Rp 100,000 and Rp 300,000 in bribes for their release, or they
are sent to Cipayung rehabilitation center, East Jakarta. "But
after we are nabbed for the second or third time we can just
offer 'services' instead of money," Sami, who has been caught
three times, giggled.
She said that she has done all manner of things for the
officials, including oral sex.
Wati, another prostitute confirmed her story, saying that many
of the prostitutes have had to sell their valuables, such as
jewelry to get out. "We've got to be prepared for everything if
we want to be prostitutes in Jakarta," she said.
If this is true, a crackdown means big money -- and free sex
-- for the public servants. Last year as many as 793 street
prostitutes were caught in official crackdowns. (yns)