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Jakarta welcomes newcomers with open arms
Jakarta is seeking to be more open to people, who typically move to the city after the Idul Fitri holiday period, as the administration dispenses with a notorious and discriminative policy of civil registration raids targeting newcomers
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span>Jakarta is seeking to be more open to people, who typically move to the city after the Idul Fitri holiday period, as the administration dispenses with a notorious and discriminative policy of civil registration raids targeting newcomers.
Instead, the city administration plans to document newcomers. Neighborhood units (RT) and community units (RW), at the forefront of administrative services in the city, will set up civil registry booths, Jakarta Population and Civil Registry Agency head Dhany Sukma said.
Dhany explained that people coming to Jakarta should bring their personal documents, such as their ID cards and family cards (KK), to the civil registry booths, so that the municipality’s population and civil registry office could issue temporary residency letters for them.
The service provided by the city stands in stark contrast to decades of crackdowns dubbed Operasi Yustisia, which targeted mostly low-skilled newcomers, not high-earning individuals. Dhany said that approach was no longer in line with current conditions.
“[Operasi] Yustisia’s approach and terminology is no longer appropriate in this democratic atmosphere to meet every citizen’s rights. That’s why the current approach is civil registry service instead of punishment,” he told The Jakarta Post on Friday.
The data collection would serve to map the areas where newcomers arrive in Jakarta, their motivation and places of residence as well as their place of origin. It is common practice for residents to bring job-seeking family members with them to the capital after the Idul Fitri holidays. Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan previously said he had decided not to carry out the crackdown this year in a bid to create a more egalitarian city.
“We will not conduct operations in terminals, stations or even check whether people have [Jakarta] ID cards or not, as if those with ID cards from outside Jakarta were second-class citizens. This is not that era anymore,” Anies said recently.
He also urged residents bringing their relatives to Jakarta to bring their registration documents and suggested that newcomers register for health insurance under the Health Care and Social Security Agency (BPJS Kesehatan).
“They also need to have skills, experience and the ability to help boost the economy in Jakarta. This would allow them to come to Jakarta and contribute to our economy,” he added.
Besides checking documents at bus terminals and train stations, the city administration in the past would also raid rooming houses and rented houses in densely populated areas around two weeks after Idul Fitri. In the past, based on a 2001 bylaw, those without Jakarta ID cards could be fined.
Operasi Yustisia had already fallen out of favor with Joko “Jokowi” Widodo as Jakarta governor, who argued it was ineffective to halt the influx of people to the city. His successor, former governor Basuki “BTP” Tjahaja Purnama, kept up the raids but scrapped the involvement of prosecutors and judges for speedy onsite trials, instead just documenting the newcomers.
Transportation Ministry data show that about 70,000 newcomers entered the city after Idul Fitri last year with the influx of Jakartans returning to the capital. In 2017, the number of newcomers was about 71,000. The head of City Council Commission B overseeing economic affairs, Abdurrahman Suhaimi, agreed that there should not be restrictions on people coming to the capital city. Still, he said, it was pivotal for the city tomaintain administrative order.
“And, of course, I wish those who come to Jakarta would contribute positively to Jakarta,” the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) politician said.
For people like Siti Rofiah, 25, who came to Jakarta for work but still retain their place of origin ID card, the city administration was no longer something to be scared of.Although she retained the ID card from her hometown of Brebes in Central Java, she had secured a job at a private clinic in Pesanggrahan, South Jakarta, and had a place to live.
“I am planning to apply [for a Jakarta ID card], but I still have to regularly go back to Brebes. Perhaps after I get married I will obtain a Jakarta ID card,” Rofiah told the Post.
