'Security should be handled by officers, not thugs'

'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