Students asked to change clothes to avoid brawls

JAKARTA (JP): Two city councilors are recommending that schools have students switch from their uniforms to regular clothes after classes in an effort to curb the escalating number of student street brawls.

Secretary of Commission E for social welfare affairs Agus Waluyo and member Sulaiman S.B. Ismaya said that all students involved in the fights were attired in their uniforms.

Fights mostly occurred after students identified counterparts from rival schools by their uniforms, they said.

"As far as I know, the student uniform is a main factor causing the brawls because students sometimes do not recognize their enemy but their uniform," Agus said.

"I therefore hope that this time such a drive could succeed in easing the brawls as it has been proven that no student brawls have been recorded during school holidays, when there is no one wearing school uniforms on the streets.

Sulaiman, himself secretary-general of the Indonesian Teachers Association (PGRI), said the problem was so pervasive that some Jakartans associate particular schools with brawling.

"Many people are afraid of being surrounded by particular groups of students in their uniforms. They are worried that a brawl or another kind of crime will soon occur."

Requiring students to use civilian clothes instead of their school uniforms after school hours "will benefit not only students but also people at large", Sulaiman added.

Student brawls, sometimes resulting in fatalities, have become a fixture of daily life in the capital along with street demonstrations.

Mediation efforts, such as holding joint competitions among rival schools, have proven ineffective over time.

Last month's brawls alone claimed the lives of Alfian Rusjdi -- a 16-year-old student of state vocational high school SMK 5, shot dead on Jl. D.I. Pandjaitan, East Jakarta -- and Andi Syahrizal, freshman of STM PGRI 12 in West Jakarta, who died of a stab wound to his head on Jl. Daan Mogot, also in West Jakarta.

Public bus drivers are also afraid to pick up students because of the fear of fights.

Many students have practiced the councilors' proposal for years to avoid becoming involved in brawls.

In many cases it works, but troublemaking students will often pick on others based on their appearance alone.

Both Agus and Sulaiman said their proposal could be temporarily implemented to gauge its effectiveness.

"It could be continued only if it's found to be effective," Agus said.

He said school authorities should not overlook the provision of changing rooms for the students. (ind)