Arientha Primanita, Jakarta – It is the job of every Betawi organization across the capital to ensure that all Betawi people in Greater Jakarta are able not just to secure jobs, but to excel in the land they consider theirs, says the chairman of the Betawi Brotherhood Forum, an organization fighting a reputation for thuggish behavior.
Members of the forum, known as the FBR, are routinely seen as the most virulent participants in mass demonstrations over everything from the closure of houses of worship to court disputes and forced evictions.
"We were created in 2001 to make sure that land and jobs snatched away from true Betawi residents were returned back to them," FBR chairman Lutfi Hakim told the Jakarta Globe. "We were not created because of religion.
"We have two million registered members across the Greater Jakarta area and our purpose is simple: to raise the dignity and pride of Betawi residents on their own land," Lutfi said on Sunday, a day after 32 FBR members were arrested for their involvement in a brutal armed clash in South Jakarta.
The Betawi people are the descendants of those indigenous to Batavia, the colonial name for Jakarta around the 17th century.
"We Betawi people have been pushed aside and the masters of Jakarta are people of different [ethnicities]. Our task is to ensure that our people not only have jobs, but are educated to the highest level possible and are able to survive in Jakarta. We all feel left out. Our people are just street vendors, motorcycle-taxi drivers and food vendors."
Jakarta is home to a number of so-called community security organizations set up along religious and ethnic lines. These include the FBR and the Islam Defenders Front (FPI), which pursues a religious agenda.
The groups often intimidate residents by staging demonstrations, conducting raids and protesting the legality of office buildings and houses of worship.
When asked to elaborate on the presence of their supporters in mass demonstrations, Lutfi said that his supporters were acting on their convictions.
Lutfi did not deny that members of the FBR provided security services for companies across the capital, including entertainment businesses, construction projects and small shops.
He had commented in previous media reports that the FBR supplied mostly unemployed Betawi members as bouncers for nightclubs.
In recent weeks, FBR members have made their presence felt in Jakarta's courts.
At the Central Jakarta District Court, members of the FBR routinely attend to support the Anti-Buddha Bar Forum (FABB), which has sued Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo over the presence of the Buddha Bar in Jakarta.
The bar has been the target of protests by the local Buddhist community since it opened in Central Jakarta in December 2008 due to its use of the religious figure's name and likeness.