TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Tanah Abang road closure could cause domino effect: Expert
Change Size
Street vendors crowd Jl. Jatibaru Raya in Tanah Abang, Central Jakarta, on Dec. 26, 2017. (JP/Dhoni Setiawan)
T
he decision to close a road in the busy Tanah Abang market district in Central Jakarta could serve as a pretext for further decisions as the policy did not have a legal basis, an expert said on Friday.
Public Policy expert Trubus Rahardiansyah said that Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan should have issued a gubernatorial decree that specifically ruled on the arrangement in Tanah Abang, home to the largest textile market in Southeast Asia, before closing Jl. Jatibaru Raya to accommodate hundreds of street vendors.
“Street vendors in other parts of the city will demand the same. [Anies] should issue a gubernatorial decree on Tanah Abang to avoid the creation of a domino effect” Trubus said, highlighting that vendors in other locations like Melawai business district in Kebayoran Baru, South Jakarta, had insisted on occupying sidewalks after seeing their fellow vendors in Tanah Abang receive special treatment.
However, the Trisakti University expert also said such a gubernatorial decree, or other regulations on the closure of Jl. Jatibaru Raya, could be challenged at the Supreme Court because it would violate prevailing regulations on public order and roads.
“The decree is likely to be revoked by the Supreme Court because it violates prevailing regulations. I think the governor has already calculated for such a possibility, which is why he did not issue the decree.”
Anies, however, in this case had not abused his power as Law No. 30/2014 on government administration gives him such discretion. Trubus explained that the law also stated that a regional leader could not be criminalized over such a policy.
“The governor is protected by the law,” he added.
Anies has yet to issue a legal basis for the closure of Jl. Jatibaru Raya since it began in December last year.
When The Jakarta Post asked Jakarta Transportation Agency deputy head Sigit Wijatmoko about the legal basis for the road's closure, he said the policy had been carried out in accordance with Law No. 22/2009 on traffic and land transportation.
“[The road closure] is permitted by the law,” Sigit said, quoting Article 127 of the law, which stipulates that roads can be used for purposes other than their intended function in the public's interest.
However, Article 128 of the law states that the administration should first gain a permit from the police. The Jakarta Police have several times directed the administration to reopen the road.
