'The poor are not allowed here'

With the current rapid rate of development in the capital, urban activists are concerned that space for residents to relax and enjoy life in, will be even more limited. True, a month-long celebration of Jakarta's 477th anniversary is underway, but that doesn't mean that economic and social issues should be swept under the carpet by the administration. The Jakarta Post talked to some residents about the city.

Kajidin, 38, is the chairman of the Jakarta Traditional Fishermen Union (SNT). Kajidin -- along with hundreds of other residents of Muara Angke in North Jakarta -- was evicted in October. Many of the evictees will soon move to Indramayu, West Java, where housing has been allocated for them:

I think that the real message of all these celebrations is that Jakarta is for the rich. The poor, like myself, are not allowed to live here.

During my 30 years in Jakarta, not once did the administration pay attention to the development of the traditional fishing industry. The agency only thinks of how to relocate us to other places, like Sulawesi or Maluku. We, traditional fishermen, are not welcome here.

Hundreds of traditional fishermen families, including mine, will say goodbye to this city this weekend.

But, we will still catch fish in the sea around Jakarta. Because the market here is better than that of Indramayu.

Novianto Prakoso, in his 30s, works for a private company and spends his spare time at an automotive club. He lives with his family in South Jakarta:

I hope Jakarta will have a future leader who is smart and experienced, but still has a conscience. I see that the source of red tape and problems in the capital is the inefficiency of its top officials.

Besides (former governor) Ali Sadikin, I think there have always been two kinds of leader in Jakarta: one type is honest but stupid, and lacks initiative; the other type is rather smart but corrupt, and tends to be greedy.

We can see this in our everyday lives. We have always had problems with traffic and street vendors. I don't understand, why is it so difficult to keep public transportation in order? Drivers should be ticketed every time they violate a regulation. Maybe that would discourage them from doing it again. The truth is that both drivers and the police are taking advantage of the situation: One gets out of punishment, the other gets a cash bonus.

--The Jakarta Post