The Real Face of Poverty in Jakarta

Edi Mulyono, a resident of Pari Island, Thousand Islands, earns Rp 3 million as a fisherman. Sometimes he gets an additional Rp. 3 million if there are many tourists. Everything was mediocre for him, his wife, and their three children.

The following article was translated using both Microsoft Azure Open AI and Google Translation AI.

KOMPAS/TOTOK WIJAYANTO

Residents search for fresh air in an open space located between train tracks that cut through densely populated semi-permanent housing in Pademangan area, North Jakarta, on Thursday (17/7/2023).

JAKARTA, KOMPAS - The welfare gap among citizens in Jakarta is widening even compared to before the Covid-19 pandemic. Residents are still struggling or finding it difficult to escape poverty due to factors such as urbanization, low levels of education and skills, more absorption into informal employment, difficulty accessing basic facilities, and a high open unemployment rate.

The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) of Jakarta, in a report titled "Finally, Jakarta's Poverty Rate Declines," on Monday (17/7/2023) announced that the poverty rate in March 2023 was 4.44 percent, down 0.09 percent from March 2020 which was 4.53 percent and down 0.17 percent from September 2022.

The decrease in poverty is not accompanied by a decrease in economic disparity or the gap between the incomes of lower and upper class citizens. The economic disparity in March 2023 was 0.431 or an increase of 0.019 percent compared to September 2022.

Coordinator of the Poverty, Inequality, and Social Protection Research Group at the Center for Population Research of the National Research and Innovation Agency, Yanu Endar Prasetyo, stated that the decrease in poverty is not only happening in Jakarta, but in almost all regions except Sulawesi. The decline in poverty is in line with the positive trend of economic growth after the Covid-19 pandemic subsided.

"For Jakarta, a positive trend has occurred since March 2022, September 2022, and March 2023. However, the trend of inequality continues to increase even when compared to before the Covid-19 pandemic," said Yanu, on Thursday (20/7/2023).

KOMPAS/TOTOK WIJAYANTO

Children are playing in front of their house located in a densely populated semi-permanent residential area in Pademangan, North Jakarta, on Thursday (17/7/2023).

Referring to BPS data from 2017-2023, inequality in Jakarta in March 2017 was around 0.413 percent. This figure then decreased to 0.39 percent in the September 2018 period. Inequality then continued to rise since September 2019, from 0.391 percent to 0.431 percent as of March 2023.

According to Yanu, there are several factors causing the increase in inequality. Economic growth in Jakarta has not been evenly distributed to its five administrative regions. Furthermore, the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic has reduced the income and consumption of citizens due to job loss and not yet being absorbed back into the workforce.

At present, the number of poor population in Jakarta has reached 477,830 people out of 10.67 million inhabitants. Meanwhile, the poverty line is at Rp 792,515 with an average of 4.89 or the number of poor household members is 4-5 people. This means that the amount of expenses that must be incurred for living needs for each poor household per month reaches Rp 3,875,398.

Yanu stated that the open unemployment rate is still above 8 percent in Kepulauan Seribu (8.47 percent), East Jakarta (8.39 percent), and North Jakarta (8.04 percent). Lowering this open unemployment rate is a challenging task that requires a lot of work.

"To restore the imbalance caused by the pandemic, new job opportunities are needed, and this is not easy due to technological disruption that causes manual, routine, and physical jobs to decrease," said Yanu.

KOMPAS/TOTOK WIJAYANTO

Children's toys were placed between the fences of houses located within a densely populated semi-permanent residential area in Pademangan, North Jakarta, on Thursday (17/7/2023).

In addition, government policies are not yet fully inclusive or reaching vulnerable communities in need of assistance. For example, the poorest group already has access to social assistance programs, but the working class generally does not have access to programs that can increase their income.

Edi Mulyono (38), a resident of Pulau Pari in Kepulauan Seribu, for example, earns IDR 3 million as a fisherman. Occasionally, he receives an additional IDR 2 million to IDR 3 million from a tourism awareness group if there are many tourist visits.

"The money is for the expenses of five people in his family, consisting of husband and wife, and three school-aged children. 'My wife manages it so that it will suffice,' said Edi."

Edi was quite helped by social assistance in the form of a Jakarta Smart Card (KJP) Plus for his children who are in elementary and junior high school. The card allows low-income residents to receive at least high school/vocational school education at full cost from the Provincial Government of DKI Jakarta.

"However, there will be inconvenience when the child enters high school because they have to study outside the island. It requires expenses for boarding, transportation, food, and other necessities," said Edi who still lives with his parents."

It is not surprising that 1 out of 5 houses in Jakarta are categorized as slums or unfit. (Yanu Endar Prasetyo)

KOMPAS/TOTOK WIJAYANTO

Residents were seen engaging in activities in front of their home located in a densely populated semi-permanent residential area in Pademangan, North Jakarta, on Thursday (17/7/2023).

Poverty

Jakarta is moving forward with a series of development projects. Skyscrapers are standing tall in the city center. However, this view contrasts with some citizens who cannot afford to rent a place to live and thus endure living in densely populated settlements, such as under the Cawang-Tomang-Pluit Toll Road at Kilometer 17, Jelambar, West Jakarta.

To access the area, local residents must pass through a small gap of concrete that separates the Grogol River and the Cawang-Tomang-Pluit toll road. Inside, residents are limited in their movement due to the constrained space. The height of the shelter ranges from 90-130 centimeters. Moreover, the position under the toll road overpass makes it difficult for sunlight to penetrate, resulting in a damp environment.

The Chairman of Commission D of the Jakarta Regional Council, Ida Mahmudah, highlighted this irony during a meeting with the Jakarta Department of Housing and Settlements last week. Representatives in Kebon Sirih have received many complaints about the difficulty of obtaining low-cost apartments for various reasons. However, department data shows that there are still 5,000 vacant low-cost apartment units available.

In addition, there are still many unhealthy slum areas for children. There are 445 slum neighborhoods in Jakarta that still need to be improved to be habitable.

Also read: Poverty Rate Decreases, Jakarta is Encouraged to Touch the Root of the Problem

Yanu stated that poverty in Jakarta is different from other regions due to several factors, such as a large number of seasonal migrants, low levels of education and skills, and more residents being absorbed into the informal job market.

Another cause is the difficulty in accessing basic facilities, such as proper housing and sanitation, due to low income levels. "It's no wonder that 1 in 5 homes in Jakarta falls into the category of slums or inadequate," said Yanu.

KOMPAS/TOTOK WIJAYANTO

Residents are active in front of the row of semi-permanent dwellings that stand on the banks of the Ciliwung River, which runs through the Bidara Cina area, Jatinegara, East Jakarta, Monday (10/7/2023).

Based on data from BPS in 2020, Jakarta ranks first out of 10 provinces with the largest number of urban slum households. The number of slum households in Jakarta reaches 22.07 percent, or 1 out of 5 households falls under the slum category.

Also read: Challenges Overcoming Poverty in the Capital City

Yanu suggests that the Provincial Government of DKI Jakarta make a breakthrough in validation methods and data updating that are simpler and more concise, but have high accuracy due to the high mobility of Jakarta's population. The layered bureaucracy process and long updating periods have become the weak points in data accuracy.

"If the validation and updating of data is successful, the poverty alleviation program will run very well," said Yanu.

The validation and updating of the program are focused on mapping poor households thoroughly by understanding poverty characteristics in Jakarta. The form of the poverty alleviation program can be tailored to the needs of the beneficiaries.

Yanu added that lifting an individual or household out of poverty cannot be solved by one or two programs alone. Consistency and long-term commitment are necessary. As an alternative, ideas such as a basic income guarantee for productive-aged citizens can be considered by the Jakarta Provincial Government, which has a large Regional Budget.