Tanah Abang still teeming with hoodlums, prostitutes

JAKARTA (JP): The 262-year-old Tanah Abang market is again in the spotlight because of its complicated problems of street vendors and hoodlums.

The authorities, comprising officials from the city administration, police and military officers, have vowed umpteenth times to sort out the problems.

Their words, so far, have led nowhere.

The number of hoodlums has been rapidly increasing in the area in line with the massive growth of sidewalk traders, streetwalkers and brothels, gambling dens, sellers of stolen goods and dimly lit drinking stalls.

Officially, the area houses a four-story building where more than 3,000 textile and house appliances traders run their business and a bus terminal, which serves over 600 buses and minivans per day.

Due to a lack of supervision, over 1,350 informal traders cover the sidewalks with portable wooden tables, offering goods such as handkerchiefs, belts, shirts, kimonos and bras to commuters.

This unfavorable situation has turned Tanah Abang market into one of the most congested areas in the city.

Passersby, commuters and drivers have often complained about the traffic chaos.

To many, the Tanah Abang hoodlums, prostitutes, street vendors and gambling den operators appear "untouchable" to local authorities.

History

The area was most likely named Tanah Abang by troops from the Mataram kingdom of Yogyakarta when they came to Batavia (now Jakarta) in 1628 to attack the Dutch colonial rulers.

According to a book titled Pasar Tanah Abang 250 Tahun (The 250 Years of Tanah Abang Market) issued by city-owned PD Pasar Jaya, the Dutch used the Tanah Abang area as a base camp for troops.

At the time, Tanah Abang was a hilly area surrounded by swamps and the Krukut River.

The book says it is possible that the Mataram troops named the area after the red earth covering most of the area.

Tanah means earth, abang means red.

Batavia, including the Tanah Abang area, was at the time mostly owned and managed by the Dutch.

In 1733, the area was owned by a wealthy Dutch named Justinus Vinck.

In 1735, Vinck was granted a license to open a market on his property. The license allowed the Tanah Abang market to open only on Saturdays, but it was changed to Wednesdays in 1751.

The Dutch determined that only textiles, household goods and vegetables were allowed to be sold at the market. Most of the vendors were of Chinese descent.

Vinck built several access roads, including the roads which passed through Prapatan Kwitang near the Senen market, to help vendors and suppliers transport their products to and from Tanah Abang.

In 1740, a bloody riot took place in Tanah Abang and a number of Chinese vendors in the market were killed and their stalls burned. The remaining venders withdrew to the outskirts of Batavia, causing a slow down in the city's economic activities.

In a bid to boost the economy, the Dutch tried to coax the Chinese back by granting them a few privileges, including allowing them to collect levies from other vendors in the market and allowing them to open opium dens in the area.

But Batavia's governor general in 1811, Raffles, abrogated Chinese's privileges in levy collection. Raffles said only the government was allowed to collect levies.

The administration, however, did nothing about the opium dens, which were in alleys around the market and many visited them to get high without fear of being caught by security officers.

In 1945, the Jakarta administration was appointed to manage the market.

During Japanese occupation, market activities decreased dramatically. Times were hard and the market attracted those down on their luck. Beggars mostly occupied the market.

Nowadays, there is hardly any place for beggars. Clout now rules the market and what room there is belongs to those with enough money to give to the hoodlums and undisciplined officials. They are the survivors of the market area. (cst)