Why Marco K. cannot be the next governor<\/p>\n
Daniel Ziv, Former Chief Editor, 'Djakarta! - The City Life Magazine'<\/p>\n
Of the various candidates proposed for the important election
\nthis September of Jakarta's next Governor, Marco Kusumawijaya,
\n40, is probably the least qualified.<\/p>\n
o He has absolutely no military background (instead, he wasted
\nhis early 20s studying architecture and engineering in Bandung,
\nand as a lecturer and researcher on public housing development in
\nWest Timor);<\/p>\n
o He isn't a member of any political party (he's merely a
\nsenior advisor to UNDP national projects on urban management and
\ndevelopment and president of the Indonesian Society for Built
\nEnvironment);<\/p>\n
o He hasn't been on any lavish overseas \"study trips\" for city
\ncouncilors (instead, he possesses a silly little Masters of
\nEngineering degree from Belgium and a thesis entitled: Jakarta's
\nThamrin-Sudirman Avenue: Problems of Modernization in a
\nDeveloping Metropolis);<\/p>\n
o He isn't considered a high-profile suspect in the horrific
\n1996 raid on the PDI Perjuangan party headquarters that left
\ndozens of people dead or missing (he's only managed to
\nparticipate in peaceful demonstrations with the Urban Poor
\nConsortium against violent evictions of slums by the
\nmunicipality);<\/p>\n
o He isn't wealthy and doesn't own numerous houses or a fleet
\nof luxury cars (in fact, the naive little sod lives way out by
\nthe airport, shares a used Isuzu Panther with his wife, and
\nsometimes even travels by public transport!);<\/p>\n
o Worst of all, he doesn't harbor any particular desire to
\nbecome Governor, nor does he consider it \"his destiny\" or \"his
\nhumble duty to the people.\"<\/p>\n
What a loser.<\/p>\n
I first met Marco when I was editor of Djakarta! - The City
\nLife Magazine and we commissioned him to write a series of
\nhonest, hard-hitting articles on municipal issues ranging from
\nJakarta's flooding crisis to slum evictions and corruption at
\ncity hall.<\/p>\n
I've had plenty of talented young writers come through my
\noffice with fresh and original takes on urban issues, but never
\nanyone quite like Marco.<\/p>\n
Thoughtful, soft-spoken and astoundingly knowledgeable about
\nevery imaginable aspect of city planning and management in
\nJakarta, he is the consummate urban development professional --
\nthe kind of guy who is focused and really tuned in to the issues
\nthat matter.<\/p>\n
The kind of guy in whose hands you'd happily place this city's
\nfate for a year, or five or even 10.<\/p>\n
And he's hardly one of those know-it-all urban engineering
\ngeeks. Quite the opposite -- he is confident, eloquent and
\ncharismatic.<\/p>\n
Rather than citing endless statistics or jargon-heavy city
\nplanning theories, Marco talks sense, engages his listeners, and
\nseems to delight in exchanging ideas and discovering new angles.<\/p>\n
Perhaps most surprisingly -- considering how much he knows is
\nso fundamentally wrong with Jakarta -- Marco comes across as an
\noptimist and focuses quite stubbornly on the potential inherent
\nin this city.<\/p>\n
For all of these reasons and perhaps a few more, Marco will
\nnever become Jakarta's Governor.<\/p>\n
He is simply far too good, and it would never occur to the
\nself-serving, small-time politicians who make up the city council
\nthat elects the next governor, to choose somebody as
\nfundamentally qualified as Marco.<\/p>\n
These municipal wheeler-dealers condescendingly dismiss him as
\nan \"activist\" or -- even worse -- \"architect\".<\/p>\n
They do so because it would reflect badly on them to have a
\ntrue professional at the helm, and besides, they will assume
\ncorrectly that he cannot be bought -- certainly not a good thing
\nfor local politics and politicians.<\/p>\n
Even if Marco's candidacy were taken seriously (which it is
\nnot, because it is proposed by good-governance NGOs like the
\nJakarta Residents' Forum rather than Machiavellian political
\nbosses), he'd be up against impossible odds.<\/p>\n
Incumbent Governor Sutiyoso has by all accounts made virtually
\nevery mistake in the book during his tenure and has in process
\nalienated himself from the populace.<\/p>\n
Yet incredibly -- for reasons having far more to do with his
\nmilitary ties than any supposed municipal policies -- he's
\nsecured crucial endorsements from President Megawati
\nSoekarnoputri and Vice President Hamzah Haz.<\/p>\n
Megawati herself will have plenty to answer for if, as
\nexpected, Sutiyoso is re-elected.<\/p>\n
From among dozens of candidates (and at least two from her
\nvery own party) the self-described reformist President threw her
\nweight behind a New Order-born-and-bred Lieutenant-General from
\nthe notorious Kopassus (special forces) brigade, a man who many
\nmembers of Megawati's own PDI Perjuangan believe was directly
\ninvolved in the deadly 1996 raid on their party headquarters.<\/p>\n
With logic like that, the thought of anybody of Marco's
\ncaliber standing a chance in hell of winning the gubernatorial
\nrace is, well, utterly illogical.<\/p>\n
Since Sutiyoso has done such a tremendous job of handling the
\nFebruary floods;<\/p>\n
o since his administration has mastered the art of violently
\nevicting penniless slum-dwellers from plywood shacks during the
\nrainy season;<\/p>\n
o since he is so adept at ensuring that he and all 85 of his
\ncity councilors receive outrageous personal clothing and health
\nand travel and car allowances;<\/p>\n
o since, according to his accountability speech a few months
\nago, he has planted 3.5 million (yup, three-and-a-half million!)
\nnew trees and created 37 new public parks in the city in the past
\nyear alone (don't say you haven't noticed them);<\/p>\n
Because of all these impressive gubernatorial achievements,
\npoor old Marco will have to miss out on the chance of living in
\nthe luxurious gubernatorial mansion and return to stupid urban
\nplanning consultancy gigs, to writing wishful little editorials
\nin newspapers and magazines, and to living in that modest little
\nhouse out by the airport.<\/p>\n
He'll probably be happier all the same. But what a loss to
\nthis city.<\/p>",
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