Jakarta – Although the Home Affairs Ministry said it would look into Jakarta's newly endorsed public order bylaw, Home Minister Mardiyanto said there was nothing stopping the city implementing it at any time.

The public order bylaw, which includes a ban on begging and busking on the city's streets, has sparked wide protest. Urban planning experts and human rights activists said the ordinance discriminated against several groups, including the urban poor.

Last week, activists representing the urban poor asked the ministry not to endorse the bylaw. According to the law, any ordinances endorsed by the City Council must be legalized by the ministry within 60 days.

However, on Friday, Mardiyanto said he did not see any reason why the Jakarta administration could not implement the bylaw immediately if it wanted to. "A governor can issue a bylaw without consulting the central government," he said in Semarang, Central Java, as quoted by Tempointeraktif.

Mardiyanto said city administrations only needed to consult with the central government to discuss bylaws regarding city budgets, taxation, tolls and city planning. "Outside of those four categories, the administration has the right to create and enact any bylaw," Mardiyanto said.

The minister discussed the bylaw with Governor Sutiyoso recently. "I asked (Sutiyoso) to communicate with those who feel they are being disadvantaged by the bylaw. Sutiyoso has promised to settle the negative aspects of this ordinance," he said.

If a regional bylaw contradicts a law passed by a higher body, the 1945 Constitution or public interest, the ministry has the right to ask the city administration to revise it or ask the President to annul it.

Jakarta's public order bylaw made headlines after academics and observers condemned it, saying it would not alleviate poverty in the city.

The Jakarta administration endorsed the bylaw as part of its push to create a cleaner and tidier city without beggars, buskers and street vendors operating in certain public spaces. The administration regards such people as a disturbance to public order.

Sutiyoso, whose term will end on Oct. 10, said last week in Jakarta that the number of urban poor in the city was increasing due to people from other areas of the country moving to the capital.

"These migrants live next to railway lines and riverbanks or beneath toll ways. The city has become disorganized because of the massive influx of migrants," he said.