The government has begun to intensify supervision of foreigners, starting with those living in South Jakarta, a municipality with a high number of foreign residents.

“Immigration violations, terrorism, drugs, employment violations and radicalism,” South Jakarta immigration office head Cucu Koswala said on Wednesday, listing the problems potentially caused by foreigners.

The high number of foreigners in South Jakarta and the potential problems, Cucu said, had prompted his office to open the first-ever Foreign Nationals Supervisory Team (TIMPORA) secretariat office in Kalibata City apartment complex in order to minimize any “potential negative impact on our country”.

Located in the apartment block’s Sakura Tower, the secretariat office will be open around the clock for anyone wishing to report suspicious activities by foreigners in South Jakarta.

He revealed that the government planned to open TIMPORA offices in other municipalities in Jakarta as well as cities and regencies across the country.

The immigration office recently reported that more than 11,000 foreigners were registered as living in South Jakarta, almost a quarter of the more than 48,500 foreigners residing in the capital.

The office also recorded that 22 foreigners were sentenced by the courts for criminal offenses and 431 others had received administrative punishments for violating immigration regulations in 2015.

Consisting of officers from the immigration office, military, police and city administration, the team is authorized to receive reports, coordinate with other agencies and even make arrests if violations are suspected.

During the opening of the secretariat office on Wednesday, Cucu said the implementation of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) would trigger an influx of foreign workers, adding that while undoubtedly it would help to develop the country’s economy, various types of trouble could potentially be caused by the foreigners.

Data released by the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) earlier this month showed a sharp increase in the number of visits by foreign citizens coming to Indonesia to work for one year or less.

The country recorded 22,805 foreign worker visits in March, a 62.8 percent increase from 14,000 visits in the same month last year.

Meanwhile, South Jakarta Mayor Tri Kurniadi pointed to drugs as the problem that worried him the most in the area, saying that he and law enforcement officials had conducted routine checks on apartments and houses that were rented by foreigners. “It’s part of our supervisory duty to monitor places inhabited by foreigners. We want South Jakarta to be a safe and comfortable place,” Tri said.

Tri also expressed his appreciation to Kalibata City management for allowing the immigration office to open the secretariat office in their area, adding that of the more than 200 apartment complexes in South Jakarta, Kalibata City was the one most in need of such an office.

Police have frequently broken up drug and prostitution rings in the 18-tower complex.

Muzdalifah, head of Kalibata City’s apartment owner and tenant association, said the secretariat office might be the answer to the criminal problem, adding that she and other association members had repeatedly filed reports to the immigration office and police about violations committed by foreigners in the area.

She said that around 20 percent of the apartment residents were foreigners and many of them caused problems including excessive noise.

“Now it will be easier for us to file a report and I hope more raids will be conducted to eliminate drugs and prostitution in this apartment complex,” she said.

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