Sleazy hub of Jakarta needs order

Sleazy hub of Jakarta needs order

From Warta Kota

The mayor of West Jakarta deserves some praise for putting in order the messy stalls of sellers of pirated VCDs in front of the Harco shopping center in downtown Glodok. It is now time for the Central Jakarta mayor to get rid of the makeshift kiosks run by illegal sidewalk vendors around the Senen shopping complex in the hub of the city.

Allow me to invite the Central Jakarta mayor to the Senen area for an evening inspection. The sidewalk sellers have created sleazy slums in the Senen neighborhood, giving it an ugly look. In fact, with Jakarta's position as a tourist destination and Central Jakarta as the seat of administration, should we be subjected to such filthy environs?

Based on Jakarta's regional regulations, the Central Jakarta mayor could certainly win public support if any measure was taken against violators of public interests, including those of legitimate tenants who sell goods in official kiosks.

Besides West Jakarta, the city's southern, eastern and northern regions have also kept their squalid areas to minimum. Let's hope Central Jakarta will soon contribute to Jakarta's image and try to make it a comfortable and clean metropolis.

MARSUDI, Jakarta