Reelection of Sutiyoso worries poor people

Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The reelection of Governor Sutiyoso, who is notoriously known for his long record of the eviction of slums and poor communities across the capital, has worried the poor residents for another term of hardship.

"The (Sutiyoso's) reelection for his second term really makes us worried as we must face again imminent uncertainties in the near future," said Asih, a resident of Bojong, Pondok Gede, East Jakarta.

Asih, 30, who was born in Purworejo, Central Jakarta, has lived in Jakarta for 13 years cultivating a plot of land belonging to the government in Bojong.

Life is so hard for Asih whose husband was forced to stop working as a becak (three-wheeled pedicab) driver two years ago, following the city administration's incessant raid to rid becaks of the city.

Yoyok Sunaryo, a resident of Kampung Rawa in West Jakarta expressed similar concern to the reelection.

"That's why we boost efforts to improve conditions in our kampong. We hope the administration will continue to allow us to stay here to see that the area is clean and orderly managed," Yoyok said.

He revealed that the city administration was planning to demolish the area.

Yoyok said there were 215 families residing on the plot of land belonging to the government. Most of the residents work as construction workers, street vendors, and in other businesses of the informal sector.

In 1989 and 1990, the kampong was destroyed by fire but the residents managed to rebuild their homes.

Both Asih and Yoyok Sunaryo were participating in a one-day workshop, Asian People's Dialogue 2, in Kampung Rawa, West Jakarta.

Also present in the workshop were two representatives of a poor community of South Africa, Iris Namo and Rosa Molokoane.

Similar workshops were also held in separate places in the city.

Sutiyoso's reelection has mounted criticism from the public, especially from the poor people amid his hostile policies against them.

One of the policies which he has also prioritized in his second term, is on curbing the inflow of population into the city. The policy has proven to affect mostly the poor people living on the riverbanks, alongside the railway lines, and those in slums who mostly have no ID cards.

Such a hostile policy has prevented the poor people to access public services, for example, free health services and cheap basic commodities subsidized by the government.

Yoyok said that since two months ago, the community had organized a community radio station to disseminate information to the residents.

He remarked that if the administration insists to demolish the poor people here, the community will fight back.