Jakartass Home thoughts from abroad. Alien thoughts from home.

It’s surely about time for Jakarta residents to tell the Governor, Fauzi Bowo to his acolytes, to take a hike. It’s just over three years since he took over the city’s helm and much seems worse – apart from his personal fortune.

Governor Fauzi Bowo is today about Rp 9 billion ($1 million) richer than when he ran for office in 2007, with a total fortune of Rp 50 billion, while his deputy reported a Rp 440 million decrease in his net worth.

“My assets did not increase nor decrease,” Fauzi said at City Hall. “The value only changed because the taxable value of my properties increased.”

He is reportedly a scion of a “wealthy family”, although some may suspect that his 30+ years in City Hall may be a significant source factor.

He’s always offered excuses for his inaction. For example, I quoted him pre-election in 2007 as saying that there was nothing that could have been done to prevent Jakarta’s floods because they “happen everywhere in the world.”

On the day of his accession, I suggested that he set up a Public Transport Authority for the city. Since then, we’ve been offered nought but a few bandaid solutions, such as the current police drive to block private transport from access to the Busway lanes and an extra car-free half Sunday. But then, there are other interests at play here.

A couple of days ago, he and Jakarta Police chief Insp.Gen.Timur Pradopo attended the 12th anniversary celebration of the Islam Defenders Front (FPI), “leading critics to say they both feared the hard-line group.”

This was a day after the FPI (in the vernacular – the Effing Perverted Islamists) visited the Jakarta Police headquarters to offer the group’s services in enforcing a city bylaw that bans some entertainment establishments from operating during Ramadan.

FPI leader Habib Rizieq told reporters after the meeting, “We will protect the police and public order officers by enforcing the bylaw. We are ready to face thugs who stand in the way of these law enforcers.”

Most Jakartans think that the definition of ‘thugs’ – aggressive and violent young criminals – applies to the FPI themselves, as do the many synonyms: hood, hoodlum, punk, strong-armer, toughie, goon, tough, bully.

That the police and City Hall are in thrall to them only serves to prove that point. Why else allow 5,000 of them to parade through main thoroughfares?

A quick glance at this photo shows several flaunting their disregard for the law (and their own lives) by not wearing crash helmets.

Furthermore, in not prosecuting them for their witnessed thuggery in Banyuwangi, East Java, when they violently broke up a meeting of parliamentarians discussing the new health bill, the police continue to lose public trust.

But back to Bozo, who has another bunch of thugs at his disposal – or is it the other way round? He is a ‘native Jakartan’, a Betawi Asli, who are considered the original inhabitants of Jakarta. 

They originated from the mixture of peoples who arrived in Batavia (Jakarta’s historical name), and they have occupied the port city since the 15th century. The authentic Betawi people can be found in the outlying areas of Jakarta, such as in Pasar Minggu in South Jakarta, in Condet in East Jakarta, the area of Kampung Sawah in Bekasi, and in the neighbourhood of Jakartass Towers.

It is difficult for the Betawi to be separated from their family. If they are in their hometown and experiencing difficulty, they can request financial assistance from their family members. This situation sometimes gives the impression that they are less industrious in seeking a livelihood compared with outsiders. The formal educational level of this indigenous Jakarta population is usually rather low. Possibly, they have connected “school” with the Chinese or Dutch Colonists’ lifestyles, which they have rejected. This antipathy to public education is reinforced when Islamic teachers urge them to avoid government schools and instead study in Islamic schools (pesantren) and seminaries (madrasah).

There are only about half a million Betawi, out of a day time population of 13 million, and it is easy to understand that they feel marginalised. As Jakarta has grown, their land holdings have been grabbed, often at the behest of City Hall, and they have not been allowed to continue their previous trade in the new locations they have been allocated, thus resulting in poverty. Young men readily form gangs, such as the Betawi Brotherhood Forum (FBR) and the Betawi People Communication Forum (Forkabi), in lieu of regular employment; in the past week or so a turf war broke out between the FBR and Forkabi in South Jakarta.

Other groups, including Pemuda Pancasila (PP), formerly “an organization of bullies at the disposal of [Suharto's] Presidential Palace“, and Kembang Latar were also involved. The police made 26 arrests, but as yet there have been no convictions.

Tri Aryadi, 30, the secretary of the Betawi Brotherhood Forum’s (FBR) South Jakarta chapter, said the organization had allocated “tactical funds” to “smooth” negotiations with law enforcement. There is a Betawi Consultative Body (Bamus Betawi), which supervises activities of Betawi-based organizations.

However, they stated that they “cannot prohibit or interfere with our members’ policies.” Vice chairman Amarullah Asbah also said, “We hope to maintain public order across the city by helping the city public order agency.”  Surely some contradiction here Husain Sani, a member of the Bamus Betawi advisory board, chaired by Fauzi Bowo, said “Fauzi is our asset.”

Some asset if he is powerless in the face of thugdom, as are the rest of us in the absence of the police who are similarly cowed. Does anyone else seriously believe the ‘promise’ of the thugs’ that they won’t resort to violence in the month ahead?

Whatever: Fuzzy Bodoh has advice for us. He has called on Jakarta residents to love the capital city. “This is important, otherwise Jakarta will suffer.”

On Saturday, Bozo gave donations to “1,000 orphans and poor people”. Were some of them the beggars he vowed to clear off Jakarta streets for Ramadhan?