As the Idul Fitri holiday approaches, Jakarta is expecting thousands of job seekers wishing to make a good living to move to the capital
s the Idul Fitri holiday approaches, Jakarta is expecting thousands of job seekers wishing to make a good living to move to the capital.
The number of post-holiday newcomers is predicted to increase this year. The city administration, however, has no intention of cracking down on newcomers at city entry points.
Jakarta Civil Registration Agency head Purba Hutapea said on Wednesday that according to a recent study by the National Statistics Agency (BPS) and the University of Indonesia, the number of newcomers was predicted to reach 52,166 this year.
'The number of newcomers is predicted to reach 52,166 this year, up from 47,832 last year. We estimate that 32,011 or about 60 percent of them will stay in Jakarta while the remaining will leave Jakarta for other areas,' Purba said during an exodus and homeward-bound preparation briefing at the National Monument (Monas) compound in Central Jakarta.
Deputy Governor Basuki 'Ahok' Tjahaja Purnama promised that the city administration would not send the newcomers home to their places of origin so long as they abide by the regulations and were responsible of their own well-being.
'We should always welcome people from outside Jakarta just like we welcome tourists. However, newcomers should have jobs, incomes and places to live so they won't end up living in slums or occupying street-sides,' Ahok said during the briefing.
The deputy governor added that the city administration would grant people who had lived and worked in the capital for 10 years a Jakarta ID.
To prevent unemployed newcomers to move to the city, Purba said that the agency would disseminate the messages through leaflets and banners.
'They will include messages about how hard it is to live in the capital, especially for those who are unemployed and have no appropriate skills.'
Purba lamented low awareness among newcomers to report their identities to the nearest local administration office, as regulated by the government.
According to the agency, only 50 percent of newcomers registered themselves to local administration offices.
'We hope that it will increase to 80 percent this year,' he said, adding that the agency would use a soft approach.
Purba has said the trend showed a decrease in the number of newcomers as most newcomers only transit in Jakarta before heading to typical industrial areas near the city like Bogor, Cengkareng and Tangerang.
The agency recorded 51,895 newcomers in 2011, down by 12.4 percent from 59,215 the previous year.
City data shows that during the day, Jakarta is home to more than 12 million people.
The Jakarta Social Affairs Agency has netted more than 800 beggars, homeless people, prostitutes and others labeled by the government as those with community and social problems (PMKS) in July.
Social Affairs' rehabilitation and service department head Ucu Rahayu said on Wednesday that most of them were seasonal beggars coming from cities in West and Central Java.
Ucu said 200 of them had been sent home and handed over to the local social affairs agencies to get further job skills training.
'The others will stay at our social institutions for up to two weeks after Lebaran,' she said, adding that detaining them longer would teach them a lesson, so they would not go back to the city.
Ucu said more seasonal beggars continued to arrive.
'We have to monitor not only main highways but also small streets as the beggars are now operating in smaller streets to avoid raids,' she said.
Ucu said her agency deployed 250 personnel, assisted by the Public Orders Agency (Satpol PP) officers to guard 15 areas known for having a lot of street beggars.
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