Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – The rapid growth of Jakarta attracts the attention of many people. Likewise, immigrants from Eastern Indonesia, including John Kei, Basri Sangaji, and Hercules.

John Kei arrived in Jakarta in 1992. Jakarta became the place where John Kei fled, who was threatened with imprisonment by the Maluku and Surabaya police.

Meanwhile, Basri Sangaji went to Jakarta purely to try his luck. Then, Hercules arrived in the capital brought by the army because he had been a Kopassus Operations Assistance Personnel (TBO) in East Timor.

The three of them have something in common, namely that they don't have any skills to survive in Jakarta. The only thing he has is courage.

So, they finally chose to become homeless and thugs. Hercules, for example, was known during the New Order era as a famous thug, always carrying a machete or sharp weapon everywhere.

According to Ian Douglas Wilson in Thug Ration Politics (2018), initially their services were used by community groups to maintain “order” in an area. At first they were alone, but slowly formed their own group.

The group consisted of people from their respective hometowns who had migrated to Jakarta. If they are from Ambon, then they are part of the John Kei and Basri Sangaji group.

Kei himself comes from Kei Island and Basri from Haruku Island. Then, if they are from Timor, they are under Hercules.

For newcomers, the three of them are charismatic figures who can be relied on. So, it is not uncommon for immigrants to follow a similar path, namely becoming thugs.

Still quoting Ian Douglas Wilson, they work like a mafia which is very synonymous with the dark world. Gradually, they no longer became thugs to maintain order, but carried out debt collection and land broker activities since 1990.

Launch Vicethe growth of the financial sector and private banking made members of the John Kei leadership group, etc., become debt collector or debt collectors. This became increasingly widespread when the economic crisis occurred which made many banks go bankrupt and left behind bad loans, which thugs would then chase after their customers.

Apart from that, their services are also used to maintain land in Jakarta. At that time, land in Jakarta was still chaotic. There is a lot of dual ownership of land in Jakarta. As a result, many residents use the services of Easterners to look after their land.

The widespread use of their group by large companies has made the three's names increasingly successful and famous. Since then they have become known as the champions debt collector R.I.

In fact, the size of the three names can create a business octopus. Indeed, the debt collection business was not always formal, but thanks to the teachings of the three kings, many of their subordinates set up similar businesses. It is not uncommon for the three of them to compete for territory.

The Hercules gang was involved in fights and clashes with the government, including the Basri Sangaji gang in 2002. Hercules was even a suspect in Basri's murder. Likewise, John Kei was also charged with murder.

Even though the bosses are gone and imprisoned, the dispute between their group and other ethnic groups is deeply rooted. Likewise, the debt collector profession is increasingly identified with groups from Eastern Indonesia. The greatness of their name in the debt collection business is irreplaceable to this day.

Currently, John Kei is behind bars for the umpteenth time in the case of the attack on his brother in Tangerang. Meanwhile, Hercules reportedly repented and lived life as an ordinary businessman.

[Gambas:Video CNBC]

(mfa/sef)