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City to crack down on unskilled newcomers
In a bid to reduce the number of unskilled newcomers flocking to the capital, the city administration will flush out those coming to the city without proper documents through raids, to be known as "Operasi Yustisi"
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In a bid to reduce the number of unskilled newcomers flocking to the capital, the city administration will flush out those coming to the city without proper documents through raids, to be known as "Operasi Yustisi".
Franky Mangatas Panjaitan, head of the city's population and civil registration agency, said anyone caught in the raid and proved to have violated a bylaw on population and civil registration could face three months in prison or a fine of up to Rp 5 million.
"We will hold two raids every month until the end of the year, starting this month, on Oct. 23 and 30," Franky said.
His agency has received Rp 900 million to fund the raids.
His agency, in cooperation with the public order agency and the psychology and social welfare development agency, will conduct the raids in 33 areas known to have high concentrations of informal workers, he said.
Deputy Governor Prijanto said the agencies would also check in luxury housing complexes and apartments.
"We will be careful when conducting the raids, as there may be businesspeople wanting to invest or expand their network in Jakarta," he said.
"Such people will not be targeted in the raids."
Franky said 3.2 million people had left Jakarta for the Idul Fitri holiday as of Sunday, and 1.5 million had come into the city as of Tuesday.
Last year, the number of newcomers without proper documentation reached 109,000, down from the 124,000 recorded in 2006. This was a drop from 180,000 recorded in 2005 and 204,000 in 2003.
The planned raids have been slammed by NGOs, who claim the raids violate human rights. The United Nations Convention on Human Rights stipulates that everyone has the right to move freely from one area to another in search of better quality of life.
Rafendi Djamin, coordinator of the Human Rights Working Group, said the raids were a form of discrimination against poor people. He questioned the use of law enforcement officers in the raid as it positioned poor people as illegal migrants in their own country.
Hermawanto, advocating division head at Jakarta Legal Aid, said the raids were an attempt to disguise the administration's inability to establish welfare.
"The capital belongs not only to Jakartans, but to all citizens of Indonesia, including the villagers and the poor. They should be welcomed because they also help build Jakarta," he said.
