Toward a stronger council<\/p>\n
Soccer maniacs in Jakarta must have been jolted upon learning
\nthat glorious and magnificent Real Madrid lost to \"nobody\"
\nMonaco, and that Chelsea beat Arsenal, their first win after 18
\nattempts against Arsenal.<\/p>\n
But those who love politics more than soccer were surely
\nequally surprised to learn about the tentative result of the
\nlegislative election, where new kid on the block Democratic Party
\nand six-year-old Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) seem well on
\ntheir way to overpowering the two giants: the Indonesian
\nDemocratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and the Golkar Party.<\/p>\n
The provisional results for the four top positions for the
\nJakarta City Council (DPRD) as of 7:30 p.m. on April 7 showed the
\nDemocratic Party leading with 132,157 votes and the PKS with
\n131,019, while the PDI-P and Golkar had garnered 81,125 and
\n48,211 votes, respectively.<\/p>\n
These are just provisional results, but observers predict that
\nthe final positions will not be that different from the
\nprovisional results. The theory seems also valid on the national
\nlevel. Jeffrey Winters, an American expert on Indonesian
\npolitics, says that the final national results will not diverge
\nthat much from the tentative ones. It is therefore interesting to
\nwatch this political phenomenon.<\/p>\n
The City Council has for decades been dominated by people who
\nhave a very good understanding of the Jakarta administration.
\nThis is reflected by -- among other things -- the fact that the
\nCouncil has always accepted the governor's annual budget report.<\/p>\n
No policies, including controversial ones made by the
\nadministration, have never been questioned. This situation has
\nexisted since the New Order era. People's expectations that the
\nCity Council would be more critical in the reform era have fallen
\nflat.<\/p>\n
The provisional results can be regarded as an unspoken protest
\nagainst the City Council, which has been functioning as a rubber
\nstamp for the administration. Citizens have regularly seen
\nirregularities in administration policies that were approved by
\nthe Council, although they cannot attest to them legally.<\/p>\n
The mushrooming of shopping centers and malls in all parts of
\nthe capital could be cited as one blatant example of those
\nirregularities. Everybody, including the governor and other city
\nofficials and councillors, know that Jakarta needs a better
\nliving environment -- more open spaces and green areas. But there
\nhave been no meaningful efforts made to deal with this
\nenvironmental problem, and more and more malls continue to be
\nconstructed. The reclamation project on the city's northern
\ncoastline is yet another case in point. These are just small
\nproblems created by the administration and approved by the
\nCouncil.<\/p>\n
But it is obvious that the people are able to judge the
\nCouncil's performance for themselves. Many residents suspect that
\nmoney is behind the Council's attitude. One or two councillors
\nusually object to an administration policy, but after the media
\ncover the issue, the objections usually fade away. Only the
\ncouncillors know why.<\/p>\n
Under such circumstances, only the Democratic Party, led by
\nformer coordinating minister for political and security affairs
\nGen. (ret) Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, and the PKS, led by Hidayat
\nNur Wahid, are expected to emerge as the saviors.<\/p>\n
Frankly, of course, nobody can guarantee that the City Council
\nwill perform better if or when it is dominated by people from
\nSusilo's and Hidayat's parties.<\/p>\n
In all honesty, the newborn Democratic Party has only Susilo
\nto sell. It helped the party tremendously when his popularity
\nskyrocketed after he was discarded by President Megawati
\nSoekarnoputri and her powerful husband, Taufik Kiemas. The PKS,
\nfor its part, offers commitment to clean governance.<\/p>\n
Susilo and the PKS' promise of a clean government have
\napparently inspired the Jakarta electorate to inject fresh blood
\ninto the lame City Council. Their votes for Susilo's party and
\nthe PKS reflect this resistance against the existing powers that
\nbe.<\/p>\n
Those who did not vote for Megawati's party, the PDI-P, or
\nGolkar, the former ruling party that Sutiyoso backed in the past,
\nare striving to make their dream of having better city
\nadministration come true.<\/p>\n
For the incumbent governor, Sutiyoso, it makes no difference
\nwhether or not the citizens want him to step down or remain in
\npower, as he must leave his post in 2007 anyway after having
\ngoverned the city for two consecutive terms.<\/p>\n
It is time for Jakarta to have a critical, strong, smart and
\nclean City Council, with the political courage to say \"no\" to the
\nadministration's flawed policies, especially those thought to be
\ntainted by bribery.<\/p>\n
And it is time for the citizenry to realize their longtime
\ndream, which is to have a City Council that is capable of
\ncontrolling the governor.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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