Hold Sutiyoso accountable

Members of the Jakarta Legislative Council should use the democratic power vested in them to scrutinize heavily the performance of Governor Sutiyoso.

They have that opportunity now as they are assessing his speech -- in which he gave an account of his leadership for the year 2001 -- before the Council last week.

If they were to find that Sutiyoso had not lived up to his job, they should move to reject the speech, and initiate the process of removing him from office.

This exercise is not necessarily academic, even though he is ending his governorship in October.

The incumbent has made it clear that he plans to run for a second five-year term. The fact that this is an election year, and that he is seeking re-election, is all the more reason for honorary council members to give Sutiyoso a run for his money.

In the two years since this requirement for annual reporting to the Council began, the Governor has been let off far too easily each time.

An outright approval by the Council would give him an additional edge in the governorship race over the other candidates. He would turn it into his advantage.

On the other hand, a rejection, or an approval with some reservations, could jeopardize or even kill his chances altogether.

The Governor himself has turned -- exploited is a better term -- the forum of his speech into a platform from which to launch his reelection campaign. While he highlighted his achievements, meager as they are, in his speech, he either concealed his gross shortcomings, of which there are many, or ducked the major problems that have beset his administration.

This much is clear to anyone with discerning eyes. One does not need to sit in the Council to see that his speech -- which supposedly gives an overview of the state of affairs of our Jakarta -- is full of holes and leaves many unanswered questions.

The Council members should avoid falling into the trap of assessing the Governor's performance solely on the basis of his speech. That would only allow him to dictate the agenda and the scope of their deliberation.

Instead, they should take a good look at some of the things that were left unsaid -- but are still important in the affairs of this city.

Essentially, as important as the speech may have been in assessing the performance of a Governor, it cannot be the only yardstick.

A casual glance at how our lives in general in Jakarta have deteriorated on almost every front is the strongest indicator that the administration is not functioning the way it should be.

Part of the problem, a bigger part, is Sutiyoso's leadership.

His only claim to success last year, and something that he dwelled on at length in his speech, was that the economy improved, growing slightly above the national average.

Even here, however, there are reasons to be skeptical, because statistical figures never tell the whole story. Jakarta's economic growth in 2001, like that of the national economy, performed worse than in 2000.

But the economy was only a small part of the story of Jakarta.

When it comes to the affairs of the Administration, there were many problems that were constantly highlighted by the media, problems that affected the quality of lives of its citizens.

They include worsening traffic congestion, soaring crime rates, increasing pollution, and the perennial problems of corruption within the administration, poor public services, and eviction of squatters.

Even in the problems the that were already anticipated, the administration often failed to act, suggesting incompetence and poor leadership.

This was most visible in the way the administration handled the problems of garbage collection and floods. These problems were predicted long before they happened, but when they did take place, the administration appeared completely helpless.

Granted, the floods occurred this year (and hence beyond the scope of the Governor's report of accountability which only covers 2001), but since this is an election year, Sutiyoso should be held accountable for this major disaster that struck our city.

Scrutinizing Sutiyoso's performance is a chance for the Jakarta Legislative Council to make a real difference in the lives of the people who elected them in 1999.