Tanah Abang kiosks closed after 'threat'

JAKARTA (JP): Hundreds of kiosks at the busy Tanah Abang market in Central Jakarta were abruptly closed by their owners on Wednesday afternoon in fear of a gang of hoodlums, who had become incensed after their demands for Idul Fitri money were rejected.

No serious incidents were recorded but the violent threats of the hoodlums caused panic and consternation among the traders and shoppers at the textile center, which has been labeled one of the busiest markets in the capital.

According to a security officer and the traders, the hoodlums -- a group of 10 people -- damaged a kiosk on the second floor of Block E after the owner, a Chinese-Indonesian, refused to meet their demands for THR, the local term for the Idul Fitri allowance.

The trader rejected the demand as he had just given between Rp 10,000 and Rp 20,000 to other hoodlums, who were making the same demands, on the same day.

"The hoodlums, who seemed to be drunk, started to damage the trader's kiosk and shouted threats to damage all the stores here if the other traders also refused to give THR," recalled Corp. Nurul, a soldier assigned to secure the market.

Although they were not injuring the trader, their action immediately prompted the other traders in the block and neighboring Block D to hastily lock their kiosks and the crowd of shoppers to run away in panic.

According to Nurul, hundreds of the traders along with the shoppers rushed to leave the site to save themselves.

Some of the panicking crowd even screamed "Robbers, help!" and "Fire, Fire", which made the situation in the non-air conditioned market worse, he said.

Nurul added that the scores of police and military officers dispatched to the scene did not make any arrest since all of the hoodlums had managed to escape.

According to the traders, the hoodlums were local Tanah Abang residents.

"They, as usual, demanded money from us for THR. But some of them asked more and more. They sometimes demanded money again from the same traders," trader Rosma said.

The extortion practiced by the hoodlums has further affected the income of the traders, who for years have unable to rid themselves of the menace.

"We pay THR not only to these hoodlums but also to others," another trader, Nani, said, referring to the market's security guards and city officials.

At 5 p.m. Wednesday, almost all kiosks at the market were still closed. Only a few of them on the first floors were still serving customers.

During the Ramadhan fasting month, the shops are usually closed at 5:30 p.m.

Dozens of shops along Jl. Fakhrudin in front of the market were also closed early by their owners due to the incident.

Tanah Abang has been a stomping ground for hoodlums for a long time. A gang led by Hercules, a native of East Timor, was once very infamous in the market, which is known as the biggest textile market in the country.

Hoodlums are reported to have reappeared in growing numbers since the city clamped down on their operations in a successful campaign at the end of 1997.

City Governor Sutiyoso revealed on Tuesday that he had sent an official letter to President Habibie begging for a full 24-hour security patrol in certain locations in Jakarta.

Sutiyoso's request related to the seeming lack of security and law enforcement in the capital.

He asked the president to deploy as many security officers as possible in order to safeguard crime-vulnerable properties, particularly in the business and shopping centers. (jun)