Dewanti A. Wardhani and Safrin La Batu, Jakarta – Becak (pedicab) drivers across Jakarta have called on President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama to allow them to operate their becak in the capital, as the two recently allowed app-based motorcycle taxis to operate despite the controversial legal basis surrounding such operations.
In a letter sent to Jokowi, Rasdullah, coordinator for becak drivers in Jakarta, reminded the President of his inconsistency, citing the rage he had shown over the Transportation Minister's decision to ban Go-Jek last year while turning a blind eye to the struggle of becak drivers who have been protesting for several years.
"Go-Jek was temporarily prohibited by the Transportation Minister. You [the President] defended them and they were allowed to operate in the end. Our becak have been confiscated [by the Jakarta administration] and therefore we ask for your protection," he said in the letter.
He went on to say, "we operate becak not to gain wealth, only to make ends meet. Besides, we do not operate in main streets, only in small alleys, traditional markets and within residential areas".
Accompanied by a #SaveBecak hashtag, the hand-written letter went viral on Twitter on Thursday, along with a wealth of sympathy toward becak drivers. However, becak sympathy was not as popular as #SaveGo-Jek had been during the Go-Jek ban.
"Mr. Jokowi, please listen to the complaints of becak drivers. Do you dare to defend them just as you defended Go-Jek?" wrote Devil Rinaldo on Twitter. "[Becaks are] the People's transport, the livelihood of small citizens, cultural heritage. They need to be conserved," wrote Rita Padawangi.
In December last year, Jokowi, who was angry with Transportation Minister Ignatius Jonan for banning Go-Jek, wrote in defense of the app-based transport on his official Twitter account a few hours after the minister issued the ban. The minister revoked the ban several hours later.Transport apps such as Go-Jek and Malaysian-based GrabBike are controversial because they use private vehicles, marked by black license plates, not yellow public vehicle plates, as stipulated in article 138 of Law No. 22/2009 on transportation.
Separately, hundreds of becak drivers paid a visit to City Hall on Thursday to demand Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama stop confiscating becaks and reconsider the prohibition of becak in Jakarta.
During the visit, the drivers took the chance to send Ahok hundreds of letters, asking him to put a stop to the ongoing confiscation of becak across the city and to revise Article 29 of Bylaw No. 8/2007 on public order.
The article stipulates that individuals or organizations are prohibited from making or selling becak or similar vehicles and are prohibited from operating or storing becak or similar vehicles.
The drivers also demanded that the Public Order Agency return more than 200 becaks, confiscated from drivers operating in various areas such as Penjaringan, Pademangan, Teluk Gong, Cilincing, Koja and Tanjung Priok, all in North Jakarta.
"Becak should at least be permitted to operate in neighborhoods and traditional markets. Many residents still need becak," said Kubil, a becak driver from Teluk Gong.
Kubil argued that becak are eco-friendly vehicles and should be kept as a form of public transportation in Jakarta. "We should at least be permitted to operate in traditional markets and neighborhoods," he said.
Another becak driver, Sugeng Sugiarto, a 47-year old father of three, said that driving a becak was his only skill thus the only way he could make money.
Responding to the becak drivers' demands, Ahok said that he had met with the becak drivers but insisted that the bylaw must be enforced. He said that the drivers must seek other work without help from the city administration.
"They must look for another job on their own. [Becak drivers in Jakarta] come from other cities. We can't change a bylaw that was issued a long time ago," Ahok told reporters at City Hall on Thursday.
Ahok explained that the city administration had thus far been lenient towards becak drivers and turned a blind eye when they operated in traditional markets.