Riang Raises the Dignity of Neighborhood Unit Chiefs
The RT chairperson post is frequently underestimated, especially in urban areas. Yet RT chiefs are an extension of the government to reach members of the public, so it is necessary for RT to feel empowered.
By
Stephanus Aranditio
·5 minutes read
STEPHANUS ARANDITIO
Riang Prasetya, (center) Head of RT 011 Pluit, Penjaringan, North Jakarta is giving an explanation regarding the shophouses that occupy the sidewalks and ditches on Jalan Niaga Block Z4 North and Z8 South.
Over the past four years, Riang Prasetya, chairman of RT (the neighborhood unit) 011 of Pluit, Penjaringan, North Jakarta, has been kept busy with residents’ complaints about shophouses occupying the sidewalks and ditches on Jalan Niaga Blok Z4 Utara and Z8 Selatan. Videos of Riang’s debates with shophouse owners became so viral that they came to the knowledge of acting Jakarta governor Heru Budi Hartono. Heru instructed North Jakarta Mayor Ali Maulana Hakim to take action.
Technical Recommendation Letter No. e-0001/PA.01.00 was issued by the Housing, Spatial Planning and Land Affairs suboffice of the North Jakarta administration, stating that the shophouse owners had taken up unlicensed space spanning 5-7 meters.
Three provisions were breached by the shophouse owners, Government Regulation No.21/2021 Article 189 Paragraph (1) because the function of the space was changed, Article 190 Paragraph (1) on space utilization under the spatial layout plan and Article 192 Paragraph (1) as their buildings stood in the way of public facilities.
I took steps in the name of honesty, knowing there was a risk of resistance.
The shophouse owners were given the opportunity to tear down the buildings. However, the appeal was ignored and finally the buildings were demolished by the Jakarta provincial government on Wednesday (24/5/2023).
Riang was faced with demonstrations by the shophouse owners and employees. The RT head, who had held the post for over five years, was accused of finishing the residents’ businesses, but Riang was simply upholding Jakarta Gubernatorial Regulation No.22/2022 on neighborhood units and community units.
One of the tasks of the RT head as stipulated in the gubernatorial regulation is to assist and support the duties and functions of subdistrict heads in carrying out public administration, development, welfare promotion and social activities. Controlling shophouse building licenses in their areas is part of the task of assisting the local government.
Based on Jakarta governor decision No.1674/2018 RT chairpersons are incentivized with a stipend of Rp 2 million (US$133) per month. The money is intended to support RT operational activities, so the stipend belongs to residents as well.
“In this case, the [shophouse violations] had the potential to cause losses to the state through the obvious violation of public facilities. This forced me to intervene. I took steps in the name of honesty, knowing there was a risk of resistance,” said Riang when visited in his house in Pluit on Sunday (28/5/2023).
ADRYAN YOGA PARAMADWYA
DKI Jakarta Civil Service Police Unit officers inspect the demolition of the front of several shophouses that violated the rules on Jalan Niaga, Pluit, Penjaringan, North Jakarta, Tuesday (23/5/2023).
Riang is pleased to see his report followed up by the government, although it came late and those who committed the violation have yet to be legally processed since 2019. “This is the best moment to reorder Jakarta. What happened in my area should not only be short-lived enthusiasm. There should never be such leniency because the RT is seen as powerless. Please go on Pak acting governor. Here is the opportunity, while you have no political burden,” he said.
The demolition of 22 shophouse units breaching the rules was still underway on Monday. According to Jakarta Civil Service Police Unit chief Arifin, the demolition would be completed in two weeks. This process does not close the shophouse owner or tenants’ businesses, but they will only be able to run their businesses within the limits of the land stated on their building licenses. Arifin denied that state civil servants had allowed the violations to take place.
Ationg and Boeng
The impact of the RT heads is also felt by the residents of Glodok, West Jakarta, through Ationg, the chairman of RT 013, and Boeng, chairman of RT 012.These RT chairs have prevented the area’s Kebon Torong field from being converted into a community health center (Puskesmas) by the Jakarta provincial government.
Since the 1950s, the Kebon Torong field has been used by residents for morning fitness, sunbathing, tai chi, badminton, basketball, taekwondo, wushu and tennis. This field is also used for National Independence commemorations, public gatherings and Chinese New Year celebrations.
RT staffers have made nine pages of logical and legal studies as a consideration for the government to cancel the Puskesmas project on the field.
In the studies, they describe the government plan as ignoring several regulations, such as Law No.36/2009 on health, which stipulates that the prevention of diseases should be achieved by residents engaging in physical exercise. They also highlighted how exercise is a human right, as specified in Law No.39/1999 on basic human rights.
Article 104 of Presidential Regulation No.60/2020 on the spatial plan for the urban zones of Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang, Puncak and Cianjur requires the utilization of these green spaces for water resorption, cemeteries, open-space physical exercise and disaster evacuation.
“We often submit these studies to the subdistrict heads, district chiefs, all of them. We have done this to prevent the conversion of our field. We pity our future generations [if this land is gone]. Their place for exercise should be maintained,” said Ationg on Monday (29/5/2023).
The government needs to elevate their role to restore the RTs’ authority.
Residents propose that the Puskesmas be built on a plot of around 1,500 square meters in Tangki subdistrict, a location still accessible for the Glodok community.
This phenomenon, according to urban affairs observer from Trisakti University, Yayat Supriyatna, should be imitated by other RT chairpersons.
“Many RT chiefs in Jakarta are not appreciated by residents as individuals. The government frequently underestimates RT chiefs for not being state civil servants. The government needs to elevate their role to restore the RTs’ authority,” said Yayat.
