The days of hoodlums

The days of hoodlums

Barbarous hoodlums have enjoyed the freedom to stir up trouble
in Tanah Abang market, Central Jakarta, for at least a year, but
only early this week did the city authorities beat the war drum
against them.

The declaration of war was seemingly provoked by the mass
strike of mikrolet (minivan) drivers Monday and Tuesday, in
protest over the thugs' imposition of illegal levies on them. The
strike almost paralyzed public transportation leading to and from
the city's most popular textile center.

What may seem strange among the criminal offenses they commit
in this overcrowded market area, is that the hoodlums, who openly
operate in daylight, allegedly force each of the drivers to pay
them Rp 2,000 (60 cents U.S.) every day. The sum might seem
nothing to other people, but for those who sit behind the wheel
of the slow-moving vans, it means a lot.

The drivers say they need the amount to finance their
children's education. As a comparison, the average one-way fare
on a mikrolet is around Rp 400, while each of the drivers has to
pay Rp 55,000 in daily rent to the owner of this remarkably
uncomfortable means of transportation.

Meanwhile, a survey in January by a magazine stated that with
all the other "security guarantees" the thugs forced on people
working within the area, which includes shop owners, roadside
vendors and prostitutes operating in nearby slums, their income
can amount to Rp 10 million a month.

That is why, when the war against these criminals was
declared, many city residents were at a loss as to why the
government had waited so long to declare war on hoodlumism.

The people also asked why security authorities had announced
their intention to crack down on the thugs instead of striking
out against them in secret operations? Would the publicity not
make the operation more difficult? This announcement may be the
reason why police officers have only managed to apprehend 16
thugs up to yesterday.

After a bloody clash between two criminal gangs in the Tanah
Abang area last January, many law experts and criminologists
became convinced that a mafia-style underworld was emerging here.

Then the market almost became a killing field for members of
both gangs who armed themselves with various deadly weapons, such
as swords, machetes, axes and iron bars. The situation was soon
brought under control then, because security forces arrived on
time.

At that time, a retired police general, a lawyer and a city
legislator warned that the hoodlums would become stronger and be
very difficult to crush if security forces failed to take stern
action against them once and for all.

A member of the House of Representatives said the existence of
hoodlums was mainly due to weak control from the police. But many
others believed that these criminals amassed their power through
powerful backers, which made the police powerless.

This was perhaps why this week the victimized drivers first
went to the district military office to register their complaints
and not to the police station.

So, the Tanah Abang problem is both a challenge and a disgrace
for the security authorities. They must combat the hoodlums to
the end, especially as the 260-year-old market is located in
Central Jakarta, the seat of the central government. If the
authorities fail to overcome the problem here, how can they bring
other market areas, where hoodlums are also ruling supreme, under
control?