Airline staff divided over Sutiyoso

Leo Wahyudi S, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Pilots and stewardesses also have their opinions on Sutiyoso, the city governor, who will end his first five-year term in October. Like the other people previously interviewed, some of them were in favor of the governor while others were not.

Capt. Setiawan, 42, who resides in the Alam Sutera housing complex in Tangerang, Banten, is a senior pilot on Mandala Airlines domestic flights. He has been a pilot for 18 years.

Asked about Sutiyoso, the father of three children said that he did not care about who was in charge of the capital city. What he was concerned very much about was what the leaders did to the city and its people.

I don't know him (Sutiyoso) much. But I think he should focus his administration on improving law enforcement in the city, as this is very badly needed by the people.

Law enforcement is one of the main issues that should be persistently pursued in order to emulate other capital cities in the region.

A governor should be pro-active in enforcing the law, otherwise the city will never see any improvement. This is very important for me as it indicates good governance on the part of the city administration.

But I also think that when enforcing the law, the administration sometimes has to deal with delicate matters. And I understand that this is complicated. So it has to be careful so as not to commit human rights violations.

Maharani, 22, was born in Madiun, East Java. Moving to Jakarta last year, she became a stewardess for the private Bouraq Airlines. She lives in Tebet, South Jakarta.

Regarding Sutiyoso and his possible victory in the next gubernatorial election, Maharani said that it was no big deal to her as long as he kept the city well-organized and secure.

The most crucial thing for me is that the leader should be responsible in creating good governance in the capital city.

I think that as matters stand, the situation in Jakarta is "so far so good." Despite many rallies and demonstrations held by a number of groups, including workers and students, I see Jakarta's condition as being a lot better now, and relatively controllable.

So, I would agree if he (Sutiyoso) were reelected again as the next governor of Jakarta. If many have nominated him, why not?

But I hope people will stop staging rallies and protests, and also stop the mass brawls in the capital city as these only make people feel less secure.

Ika Trajuningtyas was born in Jakarta 20 years ago. The stewardess, who lives in Bekasi, West Java, has been working on Mandala Airlines domestic flights for a year.

I don't care who is the governor of Jakarta. For me the most important thing is how the leader makes Jakarta a much better capital city.

It's not the person that matters. It's his policies. These should be designed in such a way that the city and its residents will in the future enjoy better conditions. And this is Sutiyoso's responsibility.

I would ask him not to engage in corruption as this will harm the public, who mostly are still suffering from the economic crisis. Why doesn't he just spend the city budget to spur development in the city and in turn improve public welfare.

If many people consider Sutiyoso to not be doing his job well, I think he should be impeached soon.