This week, Jakarta is hosting the Asian-African Conference as well as foreign delegates from 109 Asian and African countries attending the conference. Hopefully none of those delegates were hoping to try some authentic street food such as nasi goreng or soto ayam, because they’re going to have to go far to find some.
In an attempt to make Jakarta seem “cleaner” and more “comfortable” for its foreign VIPs, the capital’s social services agency and municipal police (Satpol PP) have taken it upon themselves to clear the city’s streets, especially those around the hotels and conference sites where foreign delegates will be found, of sex workers, homeless people and even Jakarta’s iconic kaki lima street vendors (PKL).
Evidence of this could be seen today along the streets around Sudriman and Thamrin. Areas that would usually be crowded with street food hawkers are quiet, the PKL banished to places where they presumably won’t upset the capital’s foreign guests.
That was the doing of the Satpol PP, who have been clearing the city’s main thoroughfare of PKL since yesterday. was already curbed Municipal Police Units (municipal police). According to the municipal police Chief Strong Hadi Santoso, it has to curb street vendors since yesterday.
“I deployed as many as 1,703 police personnel to perform an audit,” said Satpol PP Chief Hadi Santoso to MetroTV today.
Law enforcement officials said the PKL were punted so Jakarta wouldn’t seem too “chaotic.”
“We already put controls on the vendors since yesterday. So that guests in our country can feel comfortable seeing Jakarta,” said Satpol PP officer Sunardi.
Hiding street vendors may make Jakarta seem slightly more tidy for visitors, but it is also presenting them a false image of the capital – a false and temporary image created through draconian social control.
Plus it’s going to make getting lunch a whole lot more difficult for a lot of people.
