'Security should be handled by officers, not thugs'

Responding to mounting complaints about crime in the city, the Jakarta administration, police and military launched the first- ever official crackdown on thuggery and lawlessness. The Jakarta Post asked residents for their thoughts on thugs and the new campaign.

Firdanianty, 34, is an employee of a private company. She lives in Bogor:

I am personally uncomfortable seeing thugs on the streets. None of them are good people, they're all mean.

Somebody will really have to stop them.

I had just arrived at Gambir railway station from Bogor and was looking for a taxi, when a man stopped a taxi. He gestured as if to tell me that it was mine and then he asked the driver for some money.

I don't think it's right. People work hard to earn a living and these thugs take money from them, just like that.

I support the thuggery eradication campaign, but one question remains: What will the government do afterward?

I think thugs should be trained so that they are employable. More often than not they turn to intimidation or thuggery because they lack education.

Such a training scheme would minimize the number of thugs in the city. It would be better if all residents participated in the campaign by rejecting their presence in the community.

Paul Palar, 27, works at a publishing company. He lives in East Jakarta:

Thugs are not needed. They are a public nuisance. Vendors must pay "security fees" to thugs. Security should be handled by security officers, not thugs.

I am sure getting rid of them is no easy task as some people use them to get on in life. But at least the officials can do something to reduce their number.

The types of people who ask motorists for money at intersections should be forced to move on. Motorists are more than aware of the price of ignoring such a request: their car will be scratched.

What the city administration should do is to send those people who cannot produce an identity card and have no job back to their village.

-- The Jakarta Post