Blaming the crisis<\/p>\n
Blame it on the ongoing crisis. The shortage of funds, rising
\nunemployment, increased poverty among the populace and the
\nresulting social and economic disorders that these factors have
\nbrought since the outbreak of the economic crisis in 1998 are the
\nreasons the city administration has given for its inability to
\ncontrol the security situation in Jakarta. With this admission,
\nJakarta Governor Sutiyoso on Thursday defended his administration
\nof the city in the five years he has been in office.<\/p>\n
To be fair, nobody can deny that under currently prevailing
\ncircumstances a host of difficulties are in the way of any
\ngovernment official or administrator governing as if nothing had
\nhappened since the Asian financial crisis started biting in 1997.<\/p>\n
In those past five years, drastic changes have taken place. On
\nthe positive side, a popular movement for greater democracy and
\ngood governance has been set rolling and the demand for
\ntransparency on both business and government is heard loud and
\nclear. On the other side of the coin, the dramatic fall of the
\nvalue of the national currency against the U.S. dollar has
\nbrought repercussions whose effects are still felt in almost
\nevery sector of society.<\/p>\n
It is also true that countless people have been made jobless
\nas many banks went under and business corporations crashed. Most
\nof those who have been fortunate enough to be able to keep their
\njobs have seen their incomes sharply reduced. Needless to say,
\nall this cannot help but have a huge negative impact on the
\ncommunity as a whole.<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, all these circumstances, true as they may be,
\nmust not and cannot be used to justify the capital city of
\nIndonesia falling into a state of utter lawlessness and anarchy.
\nOnly a few days ago, five armed robberies occurred on one single
\nday in different sections of the city. Days earlier several women
\nwere robbed inside the taxies they were riding, by men hidden in
\nthe trunk and operating in teamwork with the driver.<\/p>\n
Particularly frightening was the fact that in one of these
\nincidents, the name of one thus-far trusted taxi company was
\ninvolved. And earlier this week, Jakartans were further appalled
\nto find that their city was not immune to the kind of ethnic
\nturmoil that has characterized some more remote parts of this
\nvast archipelago. Bad news as all this is, the personal safety of
\ncitizen's lives and belongings is not the only problems Jakartans
\nmust be ready to face daily.<\/p>\n
Lawlessness has extended to the city's road users. The sight
\nof motorists violating traffic lights and signs without regard
\nfor other's safety has become the norm rather than the exception
\nand often occurs just a few meters from police posts. Many law-
\nconscious Jakartans fear that if all this is allowed to go on
\nunchecked, it will be difficult in the future to restore order on
\nthe roads in the Indonesian capital.<\/p>\n
All this of course makes one wonder at what moment precisely
\nJakarta's city administrators will find it worth the effort to
\ntry and restore some order in the capital. For obviously,
\nlawlessness cannot be allowed to go on unchecked, funds or no
\nfunds, crisis or no crisis.<\/p>\n
One possible answer was provided by Vice President Hamzah Haz
\non Wednesday when he suggested that the agencies in charge of
\nmaintaining security, including the intelligence services, step
\nup their capabilities to give Jakartans back the sense of
\nsecurity that has been missing for years. Jakarta, the vice
\npresident said, needs a thoroughly capable governor. \"The persons
\nmost knowledgeable about these things are the governor and the
\nchiefs of the military and police,\" the vice president said.<\/p>\n
Order and security, of course, are problems not exclusive to
\nJakarta alone. This city, however, holds a special position in
\nthe social, economic and political framework of Indonesia in that
\nit is a barometer of this country's overall situation. Any
\nturmoil or disorder in Jakarta will be perceived, not only in the
\nprovinces but abroad as well, as disarray in the country as a
\nwhole.<\/p>\n
For that reason, it is the task of all city administrators,
\nbut first and foremost that of the governor of Jakarta, to find
\nall the ways and means, whether conventional or unconventional,
\nto see to it that life in the Indonesian capital proceeds safely
\nand orderly. As the vice president remarked on Wednesday, that is
\nthe test of a good governor.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/blaming-the-crisis-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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