Jakarta – The Home Affairs Ministry says it will study the newly endorsed contentious public order bylaw which, among others, bans beggars and buskers from working the city's streets.
Janirudin of the ministry's legal bureau said Monday his office would examine whether the bylaw contradicted a higher law, the Constitution or public interest.
"If it opposes a higher law or public interest, the ministry has the right to ask for a revision of the bylaw or ask the president to annul it," he said at a meeting with representatives from the Poor People's Alliance.
Having been endorsed by the City Council, the bylaw, which was passed earlier this month, was submitted to the ministry to be registered; prior to registration, the city administration cannot enact it.
Outside the ministry's building, more than 200 buskers, beggars, street children, transvestites and street vendors from the alliance, held a rally to protest the bylaw, saying it violated their constitutional rights as citizens.
The bylaw bans street vendors from operating business on sidewalks, pedestrian bridges and other communal areas without official permission from the governor. It also prohibits people from donating money to beggars, buskers and street children with a maximum Rp 20 million (US$2,128) fine or a 60-day jail term.
Edi Saidi from the Urban Poor Consortium said he believed the ministry would not endorse the bylaw. "These people work in informal sectors in order to survive. If the government thinks they aren't well-organized, then provide regulations for them instead of banning them (from making a living)," said Edi.
The Jakarta administration endorsed the bylaw in an effort to create a tidier city; beggars, buskers and street vendors who operate in public spaces are regarded as a disturbance to public order.
One busker said he never intended to earn money by singing on public transportation vehicles or in public spaces. "But I have to. I'm trying to survive. This bylaw is like playing God (because) it doesn't give us a chance to earn a living," he said.
Another busker, a widow with five children, said she did not know any other way to earn money to feed her children.
"Like every mother, all I want for my children is to see them become great people who have decent jobs. I don't want them to become like me. If the government doesn't want us to busk on public transportation, then please tell us where to go to earn a living," she said.
She added many people were now reluctant to give buskers money since the city administration endorsed the bylaw earlier this month. "Previously I was able to earn around Rp 30,000 (US$3.2) per day, but lately I have only been able to get about Rp 12,000 per day," she said.
Activist Edi said the ordinance could not be implemented well and therefore was prone to corruption and manipulation as people would try to bribe public order officials to evade the bigger fine. "If the city administration forces the implementation of this bylaw, we will oppose it," Edi said.