29 NGOs demand Sutiyoso's dismissal
Ahmad Junaidi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
A total of 29 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and dozens of flood victims urged the City Council on Tuesday to dismiss Governor Sutiyoso for his failure to control flooding in the city.
"Sutiyoso should be dismissed," chairwoman of the Urban Poor Consortium Wardah Hafidz told three councillors who met them in the council's building on Jl. Kebon Sirih, Central Jakarta.
Besides Wardah, other activists included Tini Hadad and Zoemrotin K. Susilo from the Indonesian Consumers Foundation (YLKI), and Teten Masduki from the Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW).
Women activist Nursjahbani Kacasungkana, city chapter chairman of the Indonesian Forum for the Environmental (Walhi) Ahmad Syafruddin and Tubagus Haryo Karbyanto from the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute also joined the protest.
The NGOs also demanded a direct election by residents for public officials, including the city governor, councillors and mayor.
They demanded that the administration and the council be legally responsible for corruption related to flood projects.
The central government and the city administration should make a serious effort to help flood victims and improve the state of the city's infrastructure after the floods, they urged.
However, the meeting was, as usual, disappointing as the councillors only responded by saying that they would convey their demands to the council's leaders.
Councillor Supangat of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle expressed anger over a statement from one of the activists who accused the councillors of "having no brains".
"I'm very insulted that you accused us of 'having no brains'. We are human beings, like you," said Supangat, a member of the council's Commission E for social welfare affairs.
During the meeting, the activists took an empty drawer from the councillors' desks to demonstrate that the councillors had no idea of handling flooding.
Councillor Posman Siahaan said the council needed time to evaluate Sutiyoso's performance.