Yogyakarta Govt Implements the Curfew for Under 18 Years Old

VIVA – The Yogyakarta City Government will implement a curfew for children under 18 years old. This curfew rule is to anticipate the involvement of children under 18 years old in street crime cases or usually called as Klitih in Yogyakarta.

Based on the Yogyakarta Mayor’s Regulation Number 49 of 2022 concerning Children’s Curfew. This regulation organizes children under 18 years old are prohibited from going out from 10 pm to 4 am in Indonesian time.

There are some exceptions for this new regulation, including participating in official school or institutional activities; social or religious activities in the neighborhood; the child traveling accompanied by a parent or guardian; disaster or emergency conditions; can show documents or activity letters that can be accounted for.

PJ Mayor of Yogyakarta, Sumadi said that the implementation of this curfew must be understood not as in war conditions. The curfew for under 18 rule is creating a city of Yogyakarta that is suitable for children and to avoid the risk of child crime.

"So, the curfew is not like what war people understand. It means like this, we realize that in the city of Yogyakarta, we really want to make a child-friendly city," Sumadi said when called by a reporter on Thursday, June 23, 2022.

Sumadi added that the implementation of the curfew for making the children closer to their interactions with their families at home. Sumadi believes that the family also has an important role in realizing the mission of this child-friendly city.

Sumadi said that based on a survey conducted on children in conflict with the law in the city of Yogyakarta, these children were involved in the law because it was triggered by a lack of family interaction at home.

Sumadi also conveyed that the phenomenon of children dealing with the law usually happens at night or early in the morning.

"One of the significant items for a child-friendly city is how the relationship between families has been eroding a bit. It's the children at home at night. There is a relationship between parents and children, with siblings. So, there is communication," Sumadi said.

The Yogyakarta City Government assesses that currently children lack a place to express and show their existence.

To facilitate children's needs for expression and existence, the Yogyakarta City Government will prepare public spaces for young people to channel their creativity.

One of the public spaces that have been created is EduPark in Umbulharjo, Yogyakarta City. Later, the construction of public spaces for children will be re-created in the city of Yogyakarta.

"That's why we prepare the activity in the afternoon until 8 pm (evening). They are already active a day, tired, go home and sleep. Don't be playing outside at night," Sumadi concluded.