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Group uses cold fists, cash to aid Betawi
Tri Aryadi, 30, the secretary of the Betawi Brotherhood Forum’s (FBR) South Jakarta chapter, stood in front of a courtroom in the South Jakarta District Court on Tuesday
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ri Aryadi, 30, the secretary of the Betawi Brotherhood Forum’s (FBR) South Jakarta chapter, stood in front of a courtroom in the South Jakarta District Court on Tuesday. He waited patiently for a prosecutor to take care of his case.
After the court session finished, Tri approached the prosecutor and spent the next 15 minutes in serious talk. When their discussion concluded, each left with a smile.
“An FBR member had been brought to court after he severely injured someone in a fight a few weeks ago,” Tri told The Jakarta Post.
The prosecutor said he persuaded the victim to drop the charges and settle the case out of court, Tri said.
As an FBR leader, Tri said he often takes care of members and builds a “mutual” relationship with law enforcement officials.
Tri said he is savvy enough to make deals with the police, prosecutors and even judges during the legal process, making it possible for him to ensure FBR members receive the “minimum” consequences for their abusive acts.
Tri said the organization had also allocated “tactical funds” to “smooth” negotiations with law enforcement. “We will assist our members in any legal battle, right or wrong,” he said.
Claiming 4,000 active members in the South Jakarta, Tri said the FBR has the ultimate mission to bring native Jakartans “a wealthy life on their own soil” by providing them job opportunities.
Since most of its members have only a limited education, the FBR and other Betawi organizations, such as the Betawi Family Forum (Forkabi) and Laskar Jayakarta — arrange work for most of their employees in the informal sector, such as security, parking, land protection and cleaning services.
Laskar, for example, is known for providing security in nightclubs, stores and businesses in the Taman-sari district, West Jakarta, which circulates 60 percent of the city’s entertainment money, according to the Jakarta Association of Tourism, Recreation and Entertainment Businesses.
Betawi-based organizations also battle with other ethnic-based groups to secure influence in the city.
Rivalries between the groups sometimes ends in deadly fights.
In April, one person was killed and two severely injured after two groups of visitors fought in Blowfish Kitchen and Bar nightclub in South Jakarta.
Police said the brawl broke out due to a misunderstanding among visitors and played down widespread speculation that the incident was part of a turf war between two groups from eastern Indonesia to control over security at the affluent club.
“We have put much effort in controlling Betawi-based organizations ... but do other ethnic-based groups do the same?” said Amarullah Asbah, vice chairman of the Betawi Consultative Body (Bamus).
Bamus, which supervises all Betawi organizations, said that 110 affiliate organizations have registered with the body, including the FBR and Forkabi.
Ongen Sangaji, a leader of several Maluku groups in Jakarta, supported Amarullah’s call.
“The government or activists cannot blame ethnic groups in the city for every violent brawl,” said Ongen, now a chairman of the People Conscience Party’s (Hanura) Jakarta chapter.
“It is the severe social and wealth disparities which they should first address and immediately deal with.”
