Four of 84 councillors sign Social Contract to keep their promises
Four of 84 councillors sign Social Contract to keep their promises
Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Fed up with the rampant bribery at City Council, a non-
governmental organization invited nine "clean" councillors to
sign a social contract on Wednesday with the residents they
represent.
However, of the nine councillors -- all of whom had responded
positively to the invitation -- only four attended the signing.
The reason behind the five other councillors' absence is not
known.
Drafted by NGO the Jakarta Residents Forum (Fakta), the Social
Contract binds councillors to a pledge to not receive amplop, or
envelopes, a term that refers to bribe money, which are often
given in envelopes.
It has been reported that councillors often receive such
"honorariums" from officials or businesspeople in order to gain
their support for a particular policy.
"The signing has sealed the social contract between residents
and their councillors. With this contract, people can demand
councillors to deliver their promises," said Fakta chairman Azas
Tigor Nainggolan.
Tigor said Fakta had assessed the 84 members of the Jakarta
Council and invited only those nine who were determined to be
"clean".
The signatories are Ahmad Heryawan and Mukhayar from the
Prosperous Justice Party (PDS) faction and Agus Darmawan and Tjuk
Sudono from the National Mandate Party (PAN) faction.
Tigor and three residents, representing Jakarta residents,
witnessed the contract.
Through the Social Contract, the councillors have also
promised to uphold the rights of residents and to support public
interest, such as in rejecting policies on eviction and other
acts that violate basic human rights.
Ahmad Heryawan confirmed that the councillors often received
"tips".
"Some of the money, between Rp 200,000 (US$23.52) and Rp
300,000, are in envelopes, which are usually given through
Commission B overseeing budget affairs," he disclosed.
"The practice has been common for 32 years since the New Order
regime, and remains strong today."
A reliable source at the Jakarta Administration further
revealed that some councillors required the administration to
include companies they owned in city projects in exchange for
their support in the council.
The unprecedented signing of the Social Contract is an actual
application of the theory developed by English philosopher Thomas
Hobbes in Leviathan, which suggests each member of society to
adopt a basic set of morals that will allow for a civilized
society.
Later, English philosopher John Locke and French philosopher
Jean-Jacques Rousseau stressed the idea that a social contract
served as the basis of society.
While Locke emphasized a contract between a government and its
citizens -- which led to the concept of democracy -- Rousseau
argued that a social contract bound all members of society, that
is was a natural law that served as the basis for all social
interaction.