Racketeering triggered transportation strike

Multa Fidrus , The Jakarta Post , Tangerang | Thu, 08/07/2008 10:09 AM | City

Fed up with racketeers, public minivan transportation drivers along the Cileduk-Pondok Kacang route commenced striking Tuesday.

The drivers said they would continue the strike until the Tangerang municipal transportation agency and the police undertook stern measures to stop the extortionists, who daily threaten drivers with violence.

Illegal fees had become exorbitant, ranging from Rp 5,000 to Rp 25,000 a day, the drivers said, adding the racketeers do not hesitate to resort to violence when refused.

"We can no longer stand being extorted each day like milked cows. We have to endure violence at the hands of these hoodlums," Rojali, 35, one of the striking drivers, told The Jakarta Post at the Cileduk intersection Wednesday.

In protest, drivers parked their minivans at various intersections, leaving hundreds of passengers along the route stranded each day since Tuesday.

Cileduk chief detective First Insp. Erizal said the police had arrested one suspected member of the racket identified as Sodik, alias Bontai, following a police report filed by the drivers.

Officers picked up Bontai at his home in Pondok Serut village in the Pondok Aren district Tuesday and were still looking for his accomplices, Erizal added.

The police will charge the suspect with violating article 368 of the criminal code, on violence. The article carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison.

The Association of Public Transportation Drivers (SPAU) urged local transportation agencies to improve their systems for issuing public transportation minivan permits so that such minivans can operate and properly serve recommended routes.

"The transportation agency and the police must coordinate their efforts to stop hoodlums from demanding money from drivers along their routes," SPAU chairman Saiful Milah said.

Based on the SPAU's calculations, drivers and transportation companies had to spend up to Rp 18 billion on racketeering fees, he added.

In Tangerang regency, the head of the regency transportation agency Deden Sugandhi said illegal fees were collected on many of the regency's streets, involving unauthorized officers who used agency uniforms.

"Racketeering on the part of these unauthorized officers has really embarrassed the regency administration, especially the transportation agency," Deden said, adding he had frequently received reports from community members about such fees.

The impostors collected between Rp 2,000 and Rp 5,000 from each passing driver, particularly after midnight at several spots in the Pamulang and Cisauk districts.

In response to complaints, Deden conducted an undercover investigation, disguised as a pickup truck driver.

In total, he arrested six men stationed at separate spots posing as officers and demanding a Rp 5,000 fee, he said.

Wahidin Halim tenders resignation

Multa Fidrus, The Jakarta Post, Tangerang Wed, 08/06/2008 10:15 AM City

Tangerang Mayor Wahidin Halim has officially resigned from his position, in order to seek re-election in the upcoming mayoral election.

Jakarta administration assistant Affandi Permana has also resigned, in order to run as a candidate in the regency election in Ciamis, West Java.

Both politicians resigned to comply with a 2004 law on regional administrations that obliges officials seeking election to leave office.

"Wahidin Halim's resignation letter was approved by Home Affairs Minister Madriyanto on August 2. Wahidin Halim relinquished his role as head of the administration on that date," administration spokesman Saiful Rochman said Tuesday.

Control of the administration has been given to deputy mayor Deddy Safei, until a new mayor is sworn on September 6.

Wanted: pedestrian crosswalks at Serpong

Multa Fidrus , The Jakarta Post , Tangerang Wed, 08/06/2008 10:19 AM City

Every day, dozens of students in Serpong, Tangerang, have to brave oncoming traffic just to get across the street.

Despite being one of the busiest roads in the city, Jl. Raya Serpong -- near the Alam Sutra, Bumi Serpong Damai and Vila Melati Mas housing complexes -- has no pedestrian walkways.

Instead, pedestrians have to dodge and weave through the thousands of vehicles that use the 12-kilometer-road every hour.

The street has only two pedestrian bridges.

"There is an urgent need for a pedestrian crossing along Jl. Raya Serpong due to the movement of such large numbers of people along with the high volume of traffic in the area. It's too risky for pedestrians to cross the road," Tangerang traffic police chief Insp. Ristanto said Tuesday.

The police have conducted a study on traffic density in the area, finding a pedestrian crosses the street nearly every second, he added.

"We've sent a letter to the Banten provincial public works agency three times to ask them to build pedestrian bridges, but the response is always that no budget exists for such construction," Ristanto said.

The absence of such bridges causes traffic congestion at certain points, such as at the Plaza Serpong and WTC Matahari shopping centers, as well near the Gading Serpong housing complex, the Ashobirin Hospital and the Pratama Abadi Industry building, he added.

Risanto said pedestrians crossing the street often disrupted traffic because passing vehicles had to slow down or stop, delaying vehicles behind them.

"At some spots, there are no signs warning motorists to reduce their speed and allow pedestrians to cross," he said, adding warning signs could help protect pedestrians.

Many multinational companies have opened offices in Serpong, accelerating economic growth in the area and attracting more visitors and foot traffic.

Tangerang regent Ismet Iskandar said his administration was not responsible for public facility construction along the road.

"Jl. Raya Serpong is a provincial road controlled by the Banten provincial administration, so we don't have the authority to build public facilities or to make improvements there," he added.

300 jobless after permit revocation

Multa Fidrus, The Jakarta Post, Tangerang, Tue, 08/05/2008 10:16 AM City

As many as 300 employees of financial firm PT Graha Finesa Berjangka (GFB) lost their jobs after the firm's business permit was revoked by the Futures Exchange Supervisory Board (Bappebti).

"We will soon file complaints with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono because such unfair revocation of our business permit, without warning, has cost some 300 employees their jobs," Hafidz, the company director, said in Karawaci on Monday.

The revocation of GFB's business permit was unfounded because there is no evidence the company has violated the regulations Bappebti claims it has, he added.

Hafidz said Bappebti accused the company of committing violations in its promotional campaigns, in failing to report customer transactions to PT Bursa Berjangka Jakarta (BBJ) and PT Kliring Berjangka Indonesia (KBI) and in using funds for activities unrelated to customers.

Bappebti also accused the company of having violated standard operation procedures.

"All the accusations are false because we have always reported customer transactions, of any kind, to the PT BBJ and PT KBI," Hafidz said.

Tangerang tap water gets private investment

Multa Fidrus , The Jakarta Post , Tangerang Tue, 08/05/2008 10:16 AM City

The central government signed a memorandum of understanding Monday with a private company investing Rp 520 billion in tap water provision for five districts in Tangerang regency.

"Due to limited sources of clean water across the country, the government needs to begin collaborating with private investors. This is a creative solution," Public Works Minister Djoko Kirmanto said in Tangerang.

The collaboration with a private company would not be detrimental to the existing tap water utility PDAM Tirta Kerta Raharja, which has supplied clean water to Tangerang locals thus far, he added.

"With a new competitor, PDAM must work harder from now on," Djoko said.

The quality and volume of Java's rivers, including the Cisadane river in Tangerang, has drastically declined, he added.

Djoko said Tangerang regency was a model of collaboration between government and private investors in the provision of clean water. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has given a target date of December 2009 for completion of the project, he added.

"If the water provision project with Acuatico Pte Ltd is successful, collaboration of this kind will be further developed in other regions across the country," he said.

Singapore-based Acuatico will build a tap water installation plant to supply clean water for industries and residents living in Sepatan, Pasar Kemis, Cikupa, Balaraja and Jayanti districts.

Acuatico is expected to provide 3,400 liters of water per second for households and 10,000 liters per second for industries.

Acuatico director Fatah Topobroto said investment in the water production came solely from the company's own capital, not from state or regional budgets.

Construction for the project consists of intake installations, a water treatment plant, pipelines and installation of meters in consumers' homes.

The collaboration grew out of an infrastructure summit initiated by several ministers in the United Cabinet, with the aim of developing regional infrastructure, such as roads, schools, bridges and tap water facilities.

Tangerang regent Ismet Iskandar said the supply of clean water in Tangerang was still inadequate.

"We are very grateful the central government has paid attention to the regency," he added.

Ismet said he hoped the government would continue monitoring the project's implementation.

Acuatico first entered Indonesia's tap water market in January 2007, acquiring 95 percent of the shares in PT Aetra Air Jakarta, formerly PT Thames PAM Jaya.

The 2004 Law on Water Resources first opened the possibility of private investment in water provision, sparking protests from organizations arguing water provision should be in the hands of publicly controlled entities.

In 2005, at least 17 organizations requested the Supreme Court perform a judicial review of the water resources law. The court refused the request in July of that same year.

Tiring Passport Queue at Immigration Office

TIRING WAIT: Thousands of will-be migrant workers wait in line for passport at Cikokol Immigration Office in Tangerang. Many of them fell asleep because of feeling tired of standing in line to get a passport bookfrom the office. Multa Fidrus/JP

Migrant workers face delays

Multa Fidrus, The Jakarta Post, Tangerang

Thousands of migrant workers could not leave the country to start new jobs due to long delays in passport processing at the special immigration unit in Cikokol, Tangerang municipality.

The delays forced some migrant worker agencies (PJTKI) to postpone departures to several Middle Eastern countries, throwing workers' jobs into further uncertainty.

Migrants workers claimed they had been waiting for their passports at the office since Friday.
Yanti, a would-be migrant worker, said she was confused by immigration officers' request that she be photographed a second time.

"The officers took my picture last week, but claimed they lost my file, which was being processed under the new system," the 22-year-old worker from Sukabumi, West Java, told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.

The delay means she and her friends will have to pay more to the PJTKI to cover the cost of accommodations, she added.

Darsih, 19, another migrant worker, from East Nusa Tenggara, said she had been scheduled to leave for Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, but was still waiting in line for her passport Thursday.

"I've been waiting here since Friday, but don't know how long I have to wait before my passport gets printed," she added.

Immigration officers, seen busily attending to their duties before the new system took effect Monday, appeared confused and at a standstill, while passport application forms piled up around them.

Several officers said they could nothing as they waited to transition to the new system.

Head of the Cikokol immigration office Tamsil Yakub said the directorate of immigration implemented the new system, called the Travel Document Publication System of the Republic of Indonesia (SPSPRI), to replace the older, outdated Biometrics-Based Integrated Photo System (SPTBB).

"SPTBB was based on finger print recognition. We could process passports as soon as the applications were submitted," he said, adding the process used to be on a first come, first served basis.

"The new system is based on facial recognition, requiring applicants to wait in line longer. Also, our existing equipment could not support the new system," he added.

Passport processing at the office will be delayed until the new system is fully integrated.
Tamsil refused to answer when things would get better for the workers, saying the journalists should have been grateful he was willing to meet them.

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