Is public order bylaw urgent?

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Thu, 09/27/2007 3:27 PM  |  Opinion

The endorsement of a bylaw on public order by the outgoing governor of Jakarta, Sutiyoso, last week has startled many, both with its pros and cons.

Under the bylaw, citizens giving Rp 500 (0.05 US cents) to beggars would be committing a crime and liable to be fined.

The informal sector that is the backbone of the majority of small traders will be banished from the streets.

If it were to truly be implemented, the city scene would progressively develop from bad to good.

But it's likely to be otherwise in practice, because the existing bylaw on the topic, enacted in 1988, had no results.

The absence of law enforcement has meant people are undeterred by such regulations.

What is really needed from local government is a serious poverty alleviation program. Even though the central government has poured in trillion of rupiah for such programs the results have not been felt by the poor.

This can be seen in the growing numbers of beggars, including children, to be seen at road intersections as well as those who knock on doors.

Such things are not to be seen in Sragen in Central Java, Jembrana in Bali, Solok in West Sumatra and Balikpapan in East Kalimantan.

Without relying too much on government funding, they set up their own poverty alleviation programs.

Their mayors, regents and councilors were strongly committed and annually allocated money from the local budget to finance poverty alleviation by providing free education and health care as well as vocational training for poor families to enable them to run micro and small businesses, with capital made available through a revolving fund.

Through such programs, children are not seen on the street. They go to school, the informal sector develops as the poor get busy with their businesses and their families stay away from begging.

M. RUSDI, Jakarta

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