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.