If you’re a foreigner who lives in South Jakarta, the government may be watching you.
Apologies if that sounded ominous, but according to the South Jakarta Immigration Office, South Jakarta has the highest number of foreigners of any city in the province. Therefore, they have created a special task force called Timpora (Tim Pengawasan Orang Asing) to monitor foreigners while they’re living in the city.
“South Jakarta has the highest number of foreign residents, [which we] recorded at 11,000 people. With the ASEAN Economic Community and the fact that there are visa waivers for citizens from 169 countries, more and more foreigners will be coming to our country,” said Timpora Head Cucu Koswala, as quoted by Kompas during the group’s inauguration ceremony today.
According to Cucu, Timpora serves to monitor and clamp down on foreigners who violate their visa terms, as well so those who commit criminal activities ranging from drug trafficking to cyber crimes.
Members of Timpora consist of officers from the police, army, and even the country’s intelligence and narcotics agencies.
In 2015, the South Jakarta Immigration Office recorded 22 foreigners living in South Jakarta were convicted for various criminal activities. In addition, 431 were deported for violating immigration laws.
