City berated for ignoring public needs
City berated for ignoring public needs
Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
A scholar and Jakarta residents lambasted the policies and
projects of the city administration as they claimed many of them
ignored public needs and resulted in strong opposition and
criticism from Jakarta residents.
"Mounting public skepticism and objections to Governor
Sutiyoso's costly projects, such as the Hotel Indonesia (HI)
traffic circle and the fencing of the National Monument, for
instance, reflect their responses to policies that are not in
line with public needs," said Abidin Kusno, a lecturer at the
State University of New York during a public debate held by the
University of Indonesia's School of Engineering.
Abidin contended that Jakarta residents were getting skeptical
about projects that the administration claimed were "in the
interest of the public", as they did not feel any direct impact
in their lives.
The administration has come under strong public criticism for
squandering taxpayers' money on costly projects such as the
renovation of the HI traffic circle, which cost a massive Rp 14
million and the fencing of Monas park, which will cost Rp 9
billion. Both projects went ahead despite widespread poverty
afflicting city residents as a result of the protracted economic
crisis, and the buffeting the city received at the hands of the
devastating floods that hit most parts of Jakarta in January and
February of this year.
The project to fence in Monas park has also been criticized
for reducing the amount of open space available to the public.
"Many policies and projects were planned based on political
and economic interests rather than the public's real needs,"
Abidin said.
Some participants in the discussion, mostly students, also
expressed their concerns about what they claimed were the poor
policies of the administration in coping with the city's problems
including its policy toward the street vendors who throng Jakarta
streets.
"The administration has failed to formulate clear policies on
how to manage street vendors here," said a participant.
The administration has been known for its hostility to street
vendors and continues to launch violent raids to evict them.
Earlier on Wednesday, dozens of street vendors who had been
evicted from the Pulogadung bus terminal in East Jakarta asked
for a helping hand from the City Council in urging the
administration to allow them to resume trading.
Abidin called on the administration to boost public
participation in designing its policies.
"Otherwise, all the policies drawn up by the administration
will be opposed by the residents as these policies are
disadvantageous rather than beneficial to their lives," Abidin
asserted.