Yogie cautious on Jabotabek merger<\/p>\n
JAKARTA(JP): Minister of Home Affairs Moch. Yogie SM has
\nhailed an idea to merge Jakarta, Bekasi, Bogor and Tangerang into
\none province, but says comprehensive feasibility studies are
\nrequired first.<\/p>\n
\"There are a lot of aspects which should be considered before
\nthe idea can be realized,\" Yogie said over the weekend.<\/p>\n
The minister was responding to a proposal raised by former
\nstate minister of environment Emil Salim, who said last week that
\nthe Greater Jakarta area, known by its acronym Jabotabek and
\ncomprising Jakarta, Bogor, Tangerang, Bekasi needs one governor
\nwith ministerial level authority to face greater challenges in
\nthe future.<\/p>\n
According to Emil, the realization of his idea would enable
\nthe authorities to improve services in the capital, which expects
\nto have an increasingly international role as a growth center in
\nthe Southeast Asian region.<\/p>\n
Emil said it would also support decentralization. He sees
\neconomic autonomy as an urgent step in order to tackle increasing
\nglobal competitiveness.<\/p>\n
Yogie said he appreciated the proposal especially since it was
\nraised by Emil, who he described as a highly competent expert in
\neconomic and population matters.<\/p>\n
\"We should appreciate Pak Emil Salim's idea. But it cannot be
\nrealized overnight because comprehensive studies must be
\nconducted first. And it takes time,\" Yogie, who is a former
\ngovernor of West Java, said.<\/p>\n
However, he said if the proposal was mainly based on the
\ngrowth of population, \"the size of Jakarta will continuously need
\nto be extended.\"<\/p>\n
Yogie reiterated that Emil's idea was great, but described the
\nformer minister's proposal that the Jakarta province should be
\nheaded by a governor with ministerial level authority as
\n\"something which is not viable.\"<\/p>\n
In his proposal Emil estimated that by the 21st century the
\npopulation of Greater Jakarta will be between 20 and 25 million.<\/p>\n
\"The population of Greater Jakarta by the 21st century would
\nbe the same as the current population of Australia. If things
\ndon't change, we can expect more complications in what will be
\none of the world's 10 megacities,\" Emil said.<\/p>\n
However, the proposal has been indirectly rejected by West
\nJava Governor R. Nuriana.<\/p>\n
Unlike his predecessor Yogie, who used diplomatic language
\nwhen he said that it would take time before Emil's idea could be
\nrealized, Governor Nuriana said implicitly that if the proposal
\nwas realized it \"would create many problems.\"<\/p>\n
He said one of the problems that should be tackled is the
\nformulation of the size and status of the new province.<\/p>\n
\"If Jabotabek became a province, then the first thing the
\nminister of home affairs should do is make changes in the
\nformulation of the size and status of the new province,\" said
\nNuriana. \"And this means that the government should make drastic
\nchanges to the rules governing the formulation of the size and
\nstatus of all provinces across the country.\" (bas)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/yogie-cautious-on-jabotabek-merger-1447893297",
"image": ""
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