Close aides discuss 'private' side of Sutiyoso

JAKARTA (JP): Like many top officials, the "private" side of Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso is known to few people, among them his close aides.

Two of them recently were willing to discuss the "real" Sutiyoso with The Jakarta Post.

Sigit, who has been Sutiyoso's private secretary since his appointment as governor in 1998, said his boss sometimes acted as if he himself was a law enforcer, particularly if he was upset by people breaking the law.

"It was on more than one occasion that he ordered me to catch the three-in-one jockeys we saw on the street.

"I remember the governor watching me from outside of the official car while I chased the jockeys," Sigit recalled.

He said that back then the governor was angry because the city administration had promised to put a stop to the jockeys, who were picked up by motorists who wanted to drive along streets during restricted hours, when only private vehicles with at least three passengers were allowed on the street.

"At the time the governor said, 'Let's bring the jockeys to Pak Buyung.

"'I am tired of ordering him to catch these jockeys. So let's just put the kids in his face.'

"He was so angry," Sigit said, referring to City Land Transportation Agency chief Buyung Atang.

Sigit also remembers when Sutiyoso ordered him to threaten a young man they had spotted playing with firecrackers near the governor's official residence in Menteng, Central Jakarta.

"I threatened the young man with an empty gun, because the governor was sick of the deafening sound of the firecrackers.

"The young man was scared to death, but it was effective way to stop the sound of firecrackers in the neighborhood," Sigit said.

Another close aide of Sutiyoso, Murdjiman, who has been Sutiyoso's driver for the last three years, said the retired general was a very kind man who never treated his subordinates harshly.

"Many times he has expressed disappointment over the work of some city officials, but he refused to get tough on them. Many times he chose to save these officials although they were guilty," he said.

"Well, I just hear him complaining once in a while when I drive him around.

"But he is also kind to me, so I think it is just his nature not to blame other people," Murdjiman said. (dja)