Few replies received by Fakta over jam, flood
Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The call to the public to file their complaints in regard to Wednesday's nightmarish traffic congestion resulting from a combination of flooding and an ill-prepared city administration, has not exactly received an overwhelming response.
The non-governmental organization Jakarta Residents Forum (Fakta), which started a complaint hotline on Thursday to gather evidence for a probable class action law suit against the administration, said only two of Jakarta's 8.3 million residents had lodged official complaints.
Fakta chairman Azas Tigor Nainggolan told The Jakarta Post on Friday that the law suit would only be possible if enough residents took a solid stance by filing their complaints.
"If we truly are concerned over the causes of the most recent calamity, people must stand up and be heard so we can build the law suit," he said.
The two citizens that did make their voices heard were from the Green Garden housing complex in West Jakarta and Senen, Central Jakarta, respectively. The Senen resident complained of being trapped in a public bus during the gridlock while the Green Garden resident complained that his car was mired for hours on Jl. Gunung Sahari in Central Jakarta.
In addition, urban expert Lim Yung Kun expressed his readiness to support Fakta in building the class action law suit.
Tigor said that Fakta would urge the city council to summon Governor Sutiyoso for clarification.
"We expect our representatives in the council to put pressure on Sutiyoso's administration to publish the details of its standard operating procedures for dealing with floods," he asserted.
The procedure must include details on how it intends to overcome gridlock across the city each time there is a large amount of rain.
Wednesday's mess, which left cars and people stranded all over the city, in some cases well past midnight, was the worst of its kind this year. The Great Flood of 2002 that paralyzed the capital for more than a week, killing 30 and displacing over 300,000 was the worst in the last decade.
Residents can contact Fakta by telephone at 021-471-5730 or by snail mail to Jl. Bojana Tirta II No. 1, Pisangan Timur, East Jakarta 13230, to file their complaints.