One of the causes of Tanah Abang’s notoriously bad traffic (even by Jakarta standards) are the numerous street vendors taking up precious space in the areas roads and sidewalks.
The head of Jakarta’s Civil Service Police Unit (Satpol PP), Kukuh Hadisanto, has promised that his unit would continue to crack down on street vendors (PKL) located in the Central Jakarta neighborhood.
“PKL are under our jurisdiction. For those who violate the law anywhere, including Tanah Abang, we should be the ones to regulate it,” Kukuh said at a preparation meeting for next weeks Asian-African Conference, as quoted by Okezone.
According to Kukuh, stubborn vendors routinely violate Regional Regulation No. 8 of 2007 regarding where vendors are allowed to sell their products. Preventive measures were frequently done to curb them, but Kukuh said they weren’t enough.
The Satpol PP head said that his unit would not be selective in enforcing the regulations, perhaps a reference to Tanah Abang’s reputation as a place where bribes often allow vendors to skirt the law.
“Just by going on the sidewalk or into the street, that’s breaking the law No. 8 of 2007, and we will follow up,” he said.
We’ve heard this talk many times before, so we won’t hold our breath waiting to see if it will actually happen this time.
