Sutiyoso says he is ready to serve again<\/p>\n
Ahmad Junaidi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
City Governor Sutiyoso ate his own words by announcing his
\nreadiness to be reelected in the next gubernatorial election,
\nwhich is due to be held in October, if he was firmly supported by
\nthe public.<\/p>\n
\"If the people strongly support me and there are no other
\nstrong candidates, then I'm ready,\" Sutiyoso said at a meeting
\nwith editors at City Hall on Thursday.<\/p>\n
The governor's statement marked a turnabout as previously he
\nhad always stated that he had no desire to be elected as governor
\nfor a second five year term.<\/p>\n
His announcement could also be considered an \"official\" wakeup
\ncall for the other potential candidates whose names are currently
\nbeing bandied around.<\/p>\n
\"Let the candidates show themselves first. And then we will
\nevaluate whether they are capable of running the city or not,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Sutiyoso reminded the editors of his achievements during his
\nmilitary career when he was best military resort chief until he
\nwas promoted to Jakarta Military Commander.<\/p>\n
He also revealed his dreams of developing a modern and \"green\"
\nJakarta with low cost apartments and good public transportation,
\nall of which proved impossible to realize during his first term.<\/p>\n
Some factions on the City Council, including the largest, the
\nIndonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) faction,
\nthe second largest, the United Development Party (PPP) faction,
\nand the faction of the former ruling Golkar Party are reportedly
\nbeing lobbied by Sutiyoso.<\/p>\n
The governor will be elected by the 85 city councillors. The
\nPDI Perjuangan has 31 councillors, while the PPP and the National
\nMandate Party have 13 councillors each.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian Military (TNI) and Police faction has nine
\nseats on the council while Golkar has eight seats. The remaining
\n11 seats are divided up among six minor parties.<\/p>\n
Sutiyoso has been strongly criticized by the public and non-
\ngovernmental organizations over his policies in dealing with the
\npoor and in tackling the recent floods, which paralyzed many
\nparts of the city recently.<\/p>\n
Several non-governmental organizations (NGOs) had earlier
\ndemanded that the city governor should be elected in a direct
\nelection and not through the current system by the city council.<\/p>\n
They also demanded that the next governor be drawn from
\noutside the military as the election of a militaryman would
\nbetray the reform agenda and democratization process.<\/p>\n
Some candidates with military backgrounds have been mentioned
\nas strong contestants in the election. They include State
\nIntelligence Agency (BIN) chief Lt. Gen. (ret) A.M.
\nHendropriyono, and former Udayana Military Commander Maj. Gen.
\nAdam Damiri.<\/p>\n
The NGOs have accused Hendropriyono and Adam of being involved
\nin past human rights violations.<\/p>\n
Only a few civilians are reportedly interested in the
\ngovernorship, including the current city secretary Fauzi Bowo and
\nformer deputy governor Harun Alrasyid.<\/p>\n
Harun said earlier that he was ready to resign from his
\ncurrent position as the West Nusa Tenggara Governor if he was
\nelected as Jakarta governor.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/sutiyoso-says-he-is-ready-to-serve-again-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}