Complaining To LBH, Hundreds Of Traders Expect Permission To Sell In The Inner Zone Of Borobudur Temple

Peddlers at Borobudur Temple complain at the Office of the Legal Aid Institute (LBH) Yogyakarta/ANTARA

MAGELANG - Hundreds of hawkers hope to be allowed to sell again in front of the Karmawibhangga Museum, which is located in the zone II area of Borobudur Temple, Magelang Regency, Central Java.

"We really hope that all stakeholders can continue to trade in zone II in," said Head of the Borobudur Temple 14 Commodity Street Vendor Work Unit M Egi Basiyo when complaining at the Yogyakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH) Office, Antara, Wednesday, June 15. .

Egi said as many as 340 hawkers who used to sell in front of the Karmawibhangga Museum, Borobudur Temple were not prohibited from selling, but PT Taman Wisata Candi Borobudur, Prambanan and Ratu Boko (TWC) asked them to move to the temple parking area.

The request to no longer sell in zone II in, according to him, was conveyed by the management of PT TWC when inviting hawkers of Borobudur Temple in April 2022.

At that time, traders hoped to be allowed to sell to welcome the Eid momentum after previously being banned from activities due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Our hope is that we will get the green light for our activities, but we were very surprised that PT TWC did not prohibit selling but moved its location to the parking lot," he said.

Hundreds of hawkers who have been selling in the area for decades, said Egi, are sellers of 14 commodities, including spoon and fan crafts, bamboo carvings, ashtrays, wayang masks, and a replica of Borobudur.

Borobudur Temple puppet mask trader Muh Solihin (54) admitted that he had experienced a significant decline in sales since his stall moved to the temple parking area or outer zone II.

According to Solihin, in general, visitors are tired when they arrive at the temple parking area, so they are no longer interested in buying souvenirs.

"In the past we could get five to seven buyers, now we can only get one, thank God," said the man who has been selling for 20 years in zone II in Borobudur Temple.

LBH Yogyakarta public lawyer Lalu Salim Iling Jagad said his agency would assist the hawkers so they could sell again in zone II within the Borobudur Temple.

"The hawkers don't only take care of themselves, but there are families and children who go to school," he said.

Separately, the Corporate Secretary of PT TWC AY Suhartanto said he guaranteed that hawkers could still sell in the Borobudur Temple area even though they had to move to the outer zone II which includes the temple parking area.

According to Suhartanto, the inner zone II is not allowed for hawker activities in order to provide comfort and safety for temple tourists.

"For convenience and the rules for zone II are indeed more of (tourism) facilities," he said.

Suhartanto said as one of the Super Priority Tourism Destinations (DPSP), the implementation of excellent service standards for visitors to the Borobudur Temple Tourism Park (TWC) is crucial.

Moreover, according to him, TWC Borobudur has become the main magnet for visits by both domestic and foreign tourists who have been designated as a World Heritage site by UNESCO.