Controlling Street Vendors In The Istiqlal Mosque Area Is Constrained, Traders Insist They Don't Want To Move

Street vendors in the Istiqlal Mosque area brought under control by Satpol PP/ Photo: Rizky Sulistio/ VOI

JAKARTA - A number of street vendors (PKL) in the Istiqlal Mosque area, Sawah Besar District, Central Jakarta complained about the control carried out by joint officers consisting of Satpol PP, TNI and Polri.

The ban on street vendors was carried out in an effort to regulate illegal traders in the area. However, this arrangement was rejected by a number of traders who used to hang out in the Istiqlal area.

The refusal came from one of the traders named Siswanto. According to him, although he already knew that traders were not allowed to come around Istiqlal, the ban actually made it difficult for him to eat and fulfill his daily needs.

"If you are not allowed to trade here, we will continue to trade where. Here we strongly object to the trade ban starting today," said Siswanto to VOI at the location, Thursday, March 24.

Another complaint also came from Yunus, a fellow street vendor. The man admitted that he was disappointed with the ban on traders trading in the Istiqlal Mosque area.

Even though the controls were carried out, the traders were promised to be given a relocation place to sell. Traders have also been asked to collect ID cards and family cards which will be submitted to the Pasar Baru sub-district.

"He said we want to be given a place to trade but we don't know where. Right now we are only being asked for an identity to collect data," said Yunus.

The impact of dispelling these traders had an impact on Yunus' income when selling. Moreover, he sells only to find food.

"Alhamdulillah, it's just for eating. We are looking for halal food here, at least we can play cat and mouse," said the man who has been selling since 2000.

Yunus said, if after the enforcement by the government there is no common thread that relieves traders, then they will hold a demonstration against the government.

"If there is no solution, we will protest to the government," he said.

Even so, joint officers who were deployed to the location of the Istiqlal Mosque area immediately installed a movable concrete barrier (MCB) to dispel the carts of street vendors. The MCB was installed at the entrance of the Istiqlal Mosque.

The Village Head of Pasar Baru, Arbi Nuvianto, said that if the street vendors were still trying to trade in the Istiqlal Mosque area, they would immediately be brought under control by the Civil Service Police Unit (Satpol PP).

"If they are determined to trade in the door area of the Istiqlal mosque, the officers will immediately discipline the traders," he said. Arbi said the Istiqlal area is not an area where traders sell their goods. Later, the Village and Sub-district Satpol PP will guard this location.

"Later, Satpol PP officers will be stationed in this area. This area must be clean of traders," he said.