Police to beef up security

The city police are set to deploy one-third of its force to ensure security during the celebration of Chinese New Year, which falls on Monday.

"We will deploy around 12,000 officers to places in the city where the celebrations occur," city police spokesman Sr. Comr. Zulkarnain Adinegara told reporters.

He said that the number of personnel was below the number deployed during other major celebrations, such as Christmas, Idul Fitri and New Year.

"We don't think that the festivities will be as crowded as during Christmas, Idul Fitri or New Year," he said.

Chinese temples across the capital will be on the top priority list for the police.

"Our personnel will also safeguard key sites, such as airports, seaports and railway stations since those locations are likely to become more crowded, especially by those going to their hometowns outside Java," he added.

As the Chinese New Year falls on Monday, people will have three days off starting Saturday.

Chinese New Year, or imlek, was declared by the government as a national public holiday since 2003, by the then president Megawati Soekarnoputri.

Since then, people usually held various festivities in public places in conjunction with imlek. Such festivities were not allowed during the New Order era under President Soeharto.

There will be several major events in the city to celebrate the Chinese New Year, including one at Ancol Dreamland Park in North Jakarta on Saturday, where there will be a series of shows featuring a Chinese lion dance or Barongsai.

Another event will also be held on the same day at the Dharmawangsa Square, South Jakarta, featuring a cultural dialogue, exposition and a documentary.