Appeal to businessmen in N. Jakarta

JAKARTA (JP): A City Councillor has called on businessmen operating in the North Jakarta mayoralty to have a sense of social responsibility and help solve the environmental problems being faced by residents.

Legislator Saud Rahman of the council's commission D, in charge of public works, said over the weekend that businessmen involved in business in the North Jakarta mayoralty were mostly not residents of the mayoralty, so that their commitment to the well-being of residents was still being questioned.

"They should not only try to rake in as much profit as possible there, but should also set aside some of the profits gained to build social facilities, including roads and drainage canals," Saud told The Jakarta Post at his office.

Saud said the mayoralty had borne the brunt of garbage carried by the 13 rivers which pass through it after their journey through four other mayoralties in the city.

Further, poisonous industrial waste adds to the pollution in the area.

Governor Surjadi Soedirdja has repeatedly ordered the five mayoralties in the city to install dragnets at their respective boundaries, to prevent garbage flowing into other areas, Saud said.

In terms of city management, North Jakarta is no different from the other four mayoralties, he said.

He added that, like the other mayoralties, North Jakarta is also doing its best to try to make the national discipline campaign, launched earlier this year by President Soeharto, a great success.

Saud said the mayoralty had great economic potential.

"The Tanjung Priok seaport, which is a gateway to Indonesia, is located in the area. In addition, the area has potential tourism resources, such as the Thousand Islands," he said.

It was therefore an irony that the mayoralty had so far failed to win an award like the Adipura trophy, Saud said. The trophy is presented annually to a district in a mayoralty considered to have been successful in implementing the national development drive and cleanliness program. (32)