Relocated vendors say new site a business liability
JAKARTA (JP): Former vendors of Taman Puring market complained on Friday there were poor prospects at their new designated site on Jl. Ciputat Raya in South Jakarta.
Interviewed separately after the inauguration of the new venue by State Minister of Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises Zarkasih Nur, vendors said the new location was less strategic than their previous trading spot, also in South Jakarta.
"Public transportation and private vehicles pass Taman Puring from all city corners every day," said Jafar, a watch and antiques vendor.
The site occupies a 1,200-square-meter plot on the southern tip of the Kebayoran Lama market complex, about two meters away from the Jakarta-Serpong railway line. Passersby unfamiliar with the area may not be able to clearly recognize the market as it is obscured by a shop building, with only the tip of the market visible.
Jafar said the circumstances would affect the traders' income because there would be fewer visitors.
"Since we left the old market two months ago, we have suffered a sharp decline in our earnings," said Jafar, adding that he could only earn around Rp 20,000 (US$2.80) to Rp 30,000 on Friday compared to an average of Rp 50,000 at the old market.
A shoe and racket vendor, Yettha Kikhau, voiced the same complaint.
"We used to earn Rp 500,000 a day at the old place, but now we can only earn Rp 100,000 a day," he told the Post.
However, Yettha was optimistic business would improve.
"We rely for our livelihood on old customers these days. But, we hope that as time goes by, new buyers will come to this place," he said.
There are about 500 kiosks -- with poles made of wood, roofs of metal and dirt floors -- which are mostly one meter by one meter. They stand face-to-face, with a one-meter-wide pathway for visitors.
Dozens of visitors were observed on Friday.
Sugiarto, a buyer, complained about the lack of space for visitors.
"I can't imagine if the number of buyers increases. They will not be able to move from one kiosk to another," said the retired police colonel.
Yettha is luckier than Jafar since he already occupied a kiosk.
"Each kiosk owner is required to pay Rp 2,500 a day to the management for the kiosk rental fee," he said.
Jafar is one of the traders who did not secure a kiosk before they were sold out.
He has been forced to display his secondhand goods on a cloth outside the kiosk area. He hoped the city administration would build new kiosks for the other vendors.
An employee of the market management, Lukman, said the administration would build other kiosks in the near future.
"The administration will also build parking lots near the Mahkota movie theater to attract buyers," he said of the market's current lack of parking spaces.
Minister Zarkasih Nur told the traders to make full use of the new trading site.
"Please enjoy your business here. Don't be discouraged by the limited facilities.
"The most important thing is that you are still able to trade, although with a small amount of capital," he told the vendors.
Taman Puring's vendors were incensed when the city administration decided to move them from the park early this year and to restore the park's function as green area. Local residents complained of traffic jams and garbage from the market. (asa)