Jakarta – The city administration's plan to conduct random identity card checks in a campaign to discourage unskilled outsiders from thronging the capital in search of work has sparked criticism and confusion.
As part of the campaign, officials will fan out across the city's 125 sub-districts from Monday to Thursday. Anyone caught without an ID card and proof of accommodation can be imprisoned or fined.
The campaign was in anticipation of the arrival of about 225,000 unskilled newcomers who were expected to be streaming into Jakarta after the Eid Al-Fitr holidays.
It followed a decree by Governor Sutiyoso to limit the arrivals, and was kicked off at Central Jakarta's Senen railway station on Friday. The station was a focal point for the campaign because the unskilled newcomers were believed to arrive here on economy class trains.
Several people arriving at the station from Surabaya said the idea of raids was ridiculous. Mr Amri, a construction worker living in North Jakarta, had brought along his cousin who wanted to find work here. "The plan is ridiculous. As an Indonesian citizen, why can't I enter the capital city to get a better life?" he asked.
An elderly couple from Surabaya were anxious because they had not thought of carrying their cards. "We came from Surabaya to visit our daughter, who married a Jakarta man," the man said.
Jumping off an intercity bus from Sumedang, West Java, at the Kampung Rambutan station, Mr Sutikno, 35, admitted that he had brought along his sister-in-law to work in Jakarta. "She is unskilled and doesn't have a job yet, but she will work here to get experience," he said.
Ms Sutini, 46, who had just arrived from Kuningan, West Java, at the Pulo Gadung bus station, said she had brought along three nieces. They were unskilled but there were no employment opportunities for them at home, she said.
Similar campaigns held in the past, however, proved to be futile.
Activists have criticised them for violating human rights and said they reflected the administration's inability to resolve urban development problems. In addition, the raids which were estimated to cost around 100 million rupiah were managed poorly.
On Friday, the head of the city population agency, Ms Sylviana Murni, and her colleagues handed out brochures at the Senen station. An officer warned people over a loudspeaker that illegal newcomers could be jailed for three months or fined 5 billion rupiah. The fliers being handed out, however, said newcomers would be jailed for six months or fined 50,000 rupiah.
Ms Sylviana admitted: "Yes, we are handing out the old version of the brochures stipulating the old sanctions since we haven't had the new ones made yet. We will make the new punishments public through banners and announcements."