Sutiyoso, Suyudi admit poor response to flood problems<\/p>\n
Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
City Governor Sutiyoso and Health Minister Achmad Suyudi
\nacknowledged over the weekend that their subordinates were not
\nresponsive and professional enough to properly deal with the
\nsevere flooding which has wreaked havoc on much of the city over
\nthe last three weeks.<\/p>\n
"I admit our failure in that, in most cases, our health teams
\nonly assisted the patients who came to our posts," said Suyudi in
\nreply to complaints about the flooding problems during a dialogue
\nwith flood victims on Saturday.<\/p>\n
"If I find incompetence in dealing with the flood problems, I
\nwill not hesitate in dismissing them," said Sutiyoso in a
\nreference to members of his administration at the same dialogue.<\/p>\n
The event was also attended by Minister of Education Abdul
\nMalik Fajar, and an acting Head of State Logistic Agency (Bulog).<\/p>\n
During the meeting, flood victims protested that the
\ngovernment did not do enough to help them.<\/p>\n
Sarmidi, a resident of Cililitan subdistrict in East Jakarta
\nsaid that the flood victims in his area have yet to receive any
\nkind of support or donations from the city.<\/p>\n
"We are only receiving food and other support from non-
\ngovernmental organizations, students, and individuals," Sarmidi
\nsaid during the meeting in Kuningan, South Jakarta, which was
\norganized by Government Watch (GOA).<\/p>\n
Petrus, a resident of Makasar subdistrict, East Jakarta,
\ncriticized the subdistrict's councils, known here as Dewan
\nKelurahan (Dekel) for doing nothing to cope with the floods.<\/p>\n
"Our homes have been inundated with floodwaters for more than
\n21 days; today, my house is still filled with water up to 30
\ncentimeters deep -- but, the Dekel have yet to visit us," said
\nPetrus.<\/p>\n
Kelik Waluyo, a resident of North Cipinang Besar subdistrict,
\nEast Jakarta, also criticized the slow response of the health
\nmonitoring posts, which were established by the city
\nadministration's health division to cope with the flood victims.<\/p>\n
"The posts must be more responsive to reach out to the
\nflooding areas -- not just to wait for the flood victims to swim
\nthrough the floodwaters to get to the posts," said Kelik.<\/p>\n
In response to residents' complaints, Governor Sutiyoso asked
\nthe residents not to be reluctant about reporting the
\nirregularities.<\/p>\n
"I will impose a reward and punishment mechanism; no one will
\nbe excluded if they are proven guilty," Sutiyoso pledged,
\nadmitting that most in the city administration were not qualified
\nto deal with large-scale calamities like flooding.<\/p>\n
He also emphasized that his priority would be to deal with
\nofficials' irregularities in responding to the floods.<\/p>\n
Although there have been no reports of Sutiyoso's strict
\nmeasures to the city administration's personnel, some of whom
\nhave been found hoarding money and material intended for flood
\nvictims, public anger has been everywhere.<\/p>\n
The city administration had earlier siphoned off a Rp 50
\nmillion fund dedicated to flood victims, and disbursed to each of
\nthe flood-stricken subdistricts across the capital.<\/p>\n
But local newspapers, including The Post, have reported
\nalleged irregularities by the councils in the distribution of
\nfunds meant for flood victims.<\/p>\n
According to Ministry of Health data, as of Friday, there were
\n15,019 flood victims staying in temporary shelters in the
\ncapital.<\/p>\n
Since Friday, 22 people have died of diseases stemming from
\nthe floods -- mostly diarrhea, upper respiratory infections, and
\ndengue fever.<\/p>\n
Besides health problems, many schools had to close due to the
\nflooding. About 660 school buildings were reported to have been
\nat least partly damaged by the floods, while 62 schools have been
\nused for shelters for the evacuees.<\/p>\n
"We have allocated Rp 120 billion to rehabilitate the damaged
\nschools and provide school items, including books and uniforms
\nfor the students," Sutiyoso said.<\/p>\n
Minister Malik added that his ministry has also provided a Rp
\n2.1 billion fund to help restore all material damages, so that
\nschools can return to their normal operation.<\/p>",
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