Appeal to businessmen in N. Jakarta

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)