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End of the road for Jakarta’s illegal parking attendants?
A crackdown on illegal tukang parkir in Jakarta enjoys wide public support but could spell the end of a livelihood for thousands of Jakartans who say they just make enough to get by. The Jakarta Post spoke to some of them while they were going about their business outside minimarkets in the Tebet area.
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A motorcycle passes by as parking attendant Muhammad “Didin” Fachruddin directs a car backing out of the Alfamidi parking lot in South Jakarta on May 24, 2024. (JP/Deni Ghifari)
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recently announced crackdown on illegal tukang parkir (parking attendants) in Jakarta enjoys wide public support but could spell the end of a livelihood for thousands of Jakartans who say they just make enough to get by and part of whose income goes to others pulling the strings.
Muhammad “Didin” Fachruddin, a 46-year-old tukang parkir at Alfamidi Tebet Barat in South Jakarta, said he had to pay Rp 400,000 (US$24.91) every month to the community unit treasury upon agreement with the minimarket franchise owner, who allowed the parking attendance so long as no coercion was involved.
On top of that, Didin claimed, he paid Rp 200,000 a month to an unnamed individual working for the Jakarta Transportation Agency (Dishub), the very agency tasked with cracking down on the racket.
“I initially did not agree to paying the Dishub, […] but what can I do? One, [he was] pressing for it, secondly, he also asked for money to [be paid to] the community unit office,” Didin told The Jakarta Post on Friday.
Dishub Jakarta head Syafrin Liputo did not immediately respond to the Post’s enquiry.
Former Jakarta governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama said on May 16 that he suspected “a huge amount” of kickbacks from tukang parkir goes to a certain individual or group working for the Jakarta provincial administration.
“The [juru parkir] do not get rich. The one who receives the payments is the one who gets rich, I imagine so. The juru parkir are still poor,” said Ahok in a video message released on his personal Youtube channel, using another term for parking attendants.
