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Fishermen fret as city mulls moving them to Thousand Islands
The sun was scorching over the coast of North Jakarta as Siti Haminah sat in front of her shack, her toddler in her arms
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he sun was scorching over the coast of North Jakarta as Siti Haminah sat in front of her shack, her toddler in her arms. The silence was broken only occasionally by the sound of a cracking clamshell as a fisherman passed by.
'We've heard the bad news. Most of the fishermen here don't want to move to the Thousand Islands,' Siti, a clam peeler and fisherman's wife, told The Jakarta Post recently at her home, which sits less than 100 meters from the shore.
She has lived in Muara Angke since childhood and considers the coastal district her home. Moving to the island regency would be tough, she said, as she and her family would have to spend hours a day shuttling to and from the mainland to sell their catch.
The Jakarta administration recently announced it was considering evicting fisherfolk from the coasts of North Jakarta and rehousing them in soon-to-be-built low-cost apartments (rusunawa) in the Thousands Islands.
Governor Basuki 'Ahok' Tjahaja Purnama insists that fishermen would obtain better hauls in the regency, where the seafood is healthier. 'That way, no one will eat clams from Muara Angke that have been contaminated by heavy metals, which can be fatal,' Ahok said recently.
The governor said the city administration would build a subsidized apartment complex for the fishermen, as well as providing free ferry travel to the mainland.
Located 45 kilometers off the Jakarta coast, the Thousand Islands boasts a unique sea ecosystem, offering visitors beach accommodation and marine activities like diving and snorkeling. Infrastructure for residents is limited, however, with erratic power supply and scarce banking, public transportation and trade facilities.
Jakarta Housing and Government Buildings Agency head Ika Lestari Aji said that the administration was completing required documents, including an environmental impact analysis (Amdal), before commencing development on the fishermen's rusunawa.
She explained that the apartment would be built and funded by city-owned developer PT Jakarta Propertindo (Jakpro) and private developer Agung Podomoro Land as part of the latter's obligations, and would have 12 towers containing a total 680 apartments.
'We hope to begin construction in the first half of this year at the latest,' Ika told The Jakarta Post after a meeting at City Hall recently.
However, fishermen and their families fear that adjusting to a new life on the islands is not as simple as getting subsidized housing and free travel to the mainland.
Zaenal, a fisherman in his 20s, said life would be tougher in the Thousand Islands, where the deeper sea makes it harder to catch fish or clams with tools as basic as those used by many Muara Angke fishermen.
'Not to mention the fact that there are already other fishermen there. Competition would be tough,' he added.
The Indonesian Traditional Fishermen's Association (KNTI) advisory board head Riza Damanik described moving fishermen from North Jakarta to the Thousand Islands as 'the worst idea the city administration has ever had'.
The administration, Riza said, had failed to address the inability of the island's scant sources of energy to accommodate hundreds or even thousands of newcomers.
Shortages of electricity and water in the regency are a major problem for both residents and the local tourist industry. The electricity supply relies heavily on diesel plants, because there is no external power supply to the islands.
'Electricity needs will increase substantially. The quality of the water there is also very bad,' he said.
Riza also warned that a major influx of people would harm the regency's image and appeal as a tourist destination.
