Jakarta, July 12 (Antara) - Indonesia always faces a seasonal problem of massive crowds coming to its cities from the countryside after the post-fasting festivities or Lebaran when nearly a million people across the country migrate to big cities to try their luck.
Two years ago, for instance, the National Family Planning and Population Board (BKKBN) estimated that about one million people would migrate to cities across the country, accounting for about 5.5 percent of the 18.1 million home-bound Ied Fitr holiday-makers.
Urbanization will increase the population problem in densely populated big cities, such as Jakarta. Therefore, the government should take steps in this regard to preempt it.
Legislator Saleh Partaonan Daulay of Commission IX on population affairs of the House of Representatives (DPR) said equitable development of villages is a solution to the problem of villagers coming to big cities to seek jobs.
The main problem with urbanization is uneven development. Almost all big projects are located in big cities. This prompts villagers to try their luck in cities, Saleh said on Monday.
Development projects need workers, both educated and uneducated, thus attracting many people from various towns. Even when such projects are completed, skyscrapers need workers.
As a result, according to Daulay, the migration of people could not be avoided. They come from villages to cities or move from cities to other cities.
Therefore, the central government needs to change its strategy. Big projects should now be directed to the regions. Regions need development with a distributive and just paradigm. An even development will create jobs and prevent people from regions to migrate to big cities, according to Daulay.
The regions will then have all the facilities and will no longer need big cities. People will not rush to become sales men, security guards or cleaning service employees.
He said that if the government is willing to do this, the private sector must be prepared to follow. The private sector always follows the development plan pursued by the government.
Daulay said it is difficult to monitor and prevent urbanization because people have big dreams and hopes which indeed can be realized in big cities.
As long as there is a big dream in the people's mind, urbanization will continue to happen.
Operations launched to catch them through identity card examinations will not be effective and have never been successful so far. Every year, this idea is put into practice yet many people still migrate to cities.
Jakarta, however, will not conduct operations to nab newcomers, and will give them a chance if they have skills to seek jobs in the capital city.
"I have no problem with newcomers in Jakarta. Jakarta as the capital city is surely attractive to the people, but they should not live in slum areas or in illegal buildings because we plan to set things right regarding these slum areas and illegal buildings," Jakarta Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama (Ahok) stated at the City Hall on Tuesday.
Ahok predicted that the number of newcomers to the capital city after the post-fasting festivities or Lebaran could reach 70 thousand.
However, the governor said he would not ban people from coming to Jakarta but would urge them not to live in slum areas.
He clarified that his office will collect data on the number of newcomers in Jakarta, but not through any "Yustisi Operation" (legally carried out raids). Instead, the data will be gathered through a population improvement program.
The governor predicted that there will be some 70 thousand newcomers in Jakarta. He said if he found out that they do not have jobs, he will send them back to their hometowns.
Ahok, who is also a former district head of Belitung Timur, called on these newcomers to equip themselves with skills so that they can compete with city residents.
He made it clear that he could not provide adequate apartments for newcomers because these are only made available to old residents of Jakarta. This is because there are still a lot of economically weak people in Jakarta who still need proper accommodation. Therefore, Jakarta gives priority to the Jakarta poor residents.
In the meantime, Social Affairs Minister Khofifah Indar Parawansa said the migration of village residents to urban areas after Lebaran is a normal phenomenon.
As of now, some 80 percent of the money in the country is circulating in the capital city of Jakarta. This prompts people to move to Jakarta and to other big cities, the minister stated in Jakarta on Tuesday.
The post-Lebaran urbanization, Khofifah added, is in accordance with the push and pull theory as homebound travelers from big cities to villages narrate their success stories to villagers who are then encouraged to migrate to big cities.
"People will be encouraged to move to cities when they feel that cities promise prosperity," the minister argued.
She clarified that it is alright to let people migrate and urbanization to happen as long as they have the capability and skills that they can use in cities.
If they have no skills or special capability, the minister suggested that villagers should first undergo certain courses to equip themselves to live in cities.
"Those who have skills, please do migrate. But those who have no skills, pursue some courses first before leaving for cities," she advised.
It has been a common practice for city workers or dwellers going to village to celebrate the Lebaran festivities and returning to cities with one or several friends in tow, all set to try their luck.
A study has revealed that every year after Lebaran, the population of Jakarta increases by 100 thousand newcomers.
Apart from that, cities such as Bekasi District in West Java also see urbanization. This year, it will accommodate about 10 thousand newcomer additional residents after Lebaran.
With thousands of companies scattered in seven industrial areas and the minimum wage standard at Rp3.3 million, the Bakasi District is a strong magnet for people looking forward to make a living in the region.***4***(a014/INE)EDITED BY INE/H-YH
(T.A014/A/BESSR/A/Yosep) 12-07-2016 22:28:3 |
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