Governor Surjadi reflects on 'humanitarian mission'

JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto's message for the Jakarta governor to improve Jakartan's welfare is a humanitarian mission, Governor Surjadi Soedirdja said yesterday.

In his address to the City Council's extraordinary plenary session to commemorate Jakarta's 470th anniversary, Surjadi reflected on the President's messages when installing him as governor in 1992.

He said the first message was to make Jakarta equal with the world's major cities. The second was to improve people's welfare.

"This (the second message) touches the deepest conscience of humanity. I took it as a humanitarian mission to raise the dignity of Jakarta's people," Surjadi said.

To realize both messages, "I have prioritized silaturahmi (meeting to strengthen ties) with Jakartans," he said.

The policies and planning of city development were also based on the messages, he said, including a nine-point strategic plan, his determination to make the capital a service city and his weekly visits to subdistricts.

"My office is only able to accommodate 30 percent of people's requests (to meet me) so I take the initiative to directly meet Jakartans on Friday and Sunday morning to know their problems and find the solution," Surjadi said.

On his Sunday visits, Surjadi takes along businesspeople to meet and talk with the poor. "The visit is intended to show attention and care to people of low economic level," he said.

"I tell people they are not alone in facing life's challenges in the capital. I knock on the hearts of entrepreneurs to help our less fortunate brothers and sisters."

Surjadi said yesterday's plenary session was special.

"This is the last year of my office term," he said. His term ends Oct. 6, which can be extended according to a 1974 government regulation.

He said people's annual income per capita had increased from Rp 5.8 million in 1993 to Rp 8.5 million in 1996.

The percentage of people living below the poverty line decreased from 5.65 percent in 1993 to 2.48 percent last year, he said.

The infant mortality rate decreased from 32 per 1,000 live births in 1993 to 28 per 1,000 live births in 1997.

The city's regional income has increased by 169.81 percent, from Rp 753 billion in fiscal 1992/1993 to Rp 2.03 trillion in 1997/1998.

The city budget increased by 128.35 percent from Rp 1.47 trillion in 1992/1993 to Rp 3.36 trillion in 1997/1998.

Minister of Home Affairs Moch. Yogie S.M. ruled out suggestions to appoint a minister for Greater Jakarta.

He was responding to an issue initially raised by former state minister of environment Emil Salim, who stressed the need for a governor with a ministerial level to administer Greater Jakarta.

Surjadi said there should be one authority to protect water catchments in border areas, as one way to prevent floods.

He acknowledged many commuters were from West Java.

"But it's not an easy job to form a new department... Some people would refuse if their area (in West Java) was included into the Jakarta municipality," Yogie said.

Yesterday Yogie also ruled out proposals from Golkar, the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) and the United Development Party to increase City Council seats from 75 to 100.

"According to the regulation, each council seat represents 200,000 Jakartans. So if the council has 100 seats, Jakarta's population should be 20 million, but now it's 9.8 million. It's (the addition of seats) not necessary yet," he said.

Former governor Ali Sadikin was among the session's attendants.

Walkout

The meeting was marred by a walkout of 11 out of 13 members of the PDI faction.

Ismunandar, the faction's advisor and a council deputy, said the unplanned action was purely "out of solidarity".

He said faction members disapproved the council's protocol official request that a member, Sri Umi Sutjipto, better known as Maya, leave the meeting on request of the City Council Speaker's wife.

"We can't accept the request to force our colleagues out of the meeting because of a `personal matter'. She has the right to be in the meeting," Ismunandar said.

The Speaker's wife, S. Renyda Ritonga, denied she had made such a request. Rumors say relations between her and Maya are tense.

"Who am I? I'm only Mrs. Ritonga... I don't have any right to do so. Only Pak Yogie can do so."

Speaker Ritonga said he did not know about PDI's absence in the meeting.

"But they are entitled not to attend the meeting, because this is not a meeting where council members must decide something and where the number of attendants should reach the quorum," Ritonga said. He said he would not question PDI on their action. (ste)