Buggy riders dig their hooves in at Monas

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Mon, 11/02/2009 2:02 PM  |  City

The Association of Betawi horse-drawn carriage (delman) operators (PPDB) has refused to cooperate with the Central Jakarta municipality's plan to relocate buggies from the National Monument (Monas) Park to Ragunan Zoo in South Jakarta.

Association secretary Iswadi lamented that the administration had decided on a new location for the buggies without discussing the plan to move them with the buggy operators affected.

"They *the administration* did not involve us *the buggy operators* in the decision-making process. They did not listen to our ideas," Iswadi said as quoted by tempointeraktif.com.

The plan would create new problems since Ragunan Zoo is already home to 26 buggies, he said.

Since the buggy drivers already had to take it in turns to ply their trade amid apparently declining patronage among visitors using their services, moving another 50 buggies to the zoo would cause conflict among the buggy operators, Iswadi said.

Central Jakarta Public Order Subagency head Idris Priyatna said the plan to relocate buggies from the Monas park would become effective as of next week.

"Next week, we will begin barring delman operators from entering the complex," Idris said.

Central Jakarta Tourism Subagency head Dewi Susanti said earlier on Friday that the relocation was carried out because the buggies at Monas had tarnished the image of the city landmark.

"We have to move the buggies to Ragunan because it would be embarrassing for us if the monument, as one of the city landmarks, is littered with horse dung and becomes smelly," Dewi said.

"I think those buggies would be better at Ragunan Zoo than in the city center and Monas, which is surrounded by important state offices," Dewi said.

Dewi said the relocation of buggies was part of the subagency's plan to revamp the complex.

She said the subagency would also limit the hours the monument was open to the public.

"We want to make the monument as convenient and as nice as possible. It would be embarrassing if foreign tourists found the place dirty," she said.

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Tami Koestomo — Wed, 11/11/2009 - 1:32pm

Tami Koestomo So people like Anggodo, who has obviously done wrong, are actually protected, and the small people such as honest ‘delman’ drivers are mercilessly persecuted. What IS this country coming to??? I am very incensed at the obviously heartless and dim-witted statements of Central Jakarta Public Order Subagency head Idris Priyatna, who said that delman operators would be barred from entering the Monas Complex, and Central Jakarta Tourism Subagency head Dewi Susanti, who stated that the relocation of the horse-drawn bugges to Ragunan had to be carried out because the buggies at Monas ‘had tarnished the image of the city landmark’. I quote Dewi’s statement: ‘We want to make the monument as convenient and as nice as possible. It would be embarrassing if foreign tourists found the place dirty.’ What utter drivel. Have they never heard of the popular horse-drawn carriages in Europe, such as the fiakerls in Vienna? We’ve never heard the municipality of Vienna banning those vehicles from the streets because of the so-called inconveniences of dropped horse manure. And I personally think that the natural odor of fresh horse manure is vastly preferable to the stench of the exhaust fumes from the thousands of cars that pass by Monas each day. As for the poor oppressed ‘delman’ drivers: have those who made the narrow-minded and yes, unquestionably cruel decision to relocate the buggies to Ragunan ever really thought of the far-reaching and terrible consequences? Several buggy drivers, AND their families, will most certainly suffer financially, if not starve, because they will receive far less income than usual; and for the buggy drivers who live very far away from Ragunan (let’s say near Pasar Baru or even further to the North or East of Jakarta) the journey to Ragunan will be more than exhausting. To say nothing of the unfortunate horses! If these poor animals happen to drop dead from exhaustion, will the DKI municipality give a refund to the owners? The delmans are a wonderful landmark and, as such, a part of Indonesia, the buggy drivers have the inalienable human right to earn a decent income, and the horses, most of all, have the right to receive a better and more humane treatment. They must remain at The National Monument. Manure or not. What do you say, fellow readers? Has the time come to ‘Defend the Delmans’? Come on, fellow Face-Bookers, let’s do something about this! Tami Koestomo.

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