'I am disappointed by Sutiyoso's reelection'

'I am disappointed by Sutiyoso's reelection'

Governor Sutiyoso's reelection has sparked public controversy due
to his unfavorable track record during his tenure. The Jakarta
Post talked to some people on the street to find out what they
thought about Sutiyoso.

Paulus, 16, a second grader vocational school student at a
noted private school in Pulo Raya, South Jakarta. He lives with
his family in Ciledug, South Jakarta:

I'm disappointed that Sutiyoso was reelected. His unfavorable
track record in the July 27 tragedy still made the public
distrust his reputation.

With such an unaccountable figure, what could we expect from
him in the next gubernatorial term?

It seems that his policies do not touch the hearts of every
Jakartan. Therefore, I hesitate that he should have stronger
commitments and better actions to improve the city's conditions.

In his term as governor, he could not minimize the street
crimes, the slums and other social problems. He might be capable
but he fails to take real action to solve the problems.

But if I disagree, will it change anything?

Abdul Cholil, a vendor who sells watches at a market in Taman
Puring, South Jakarta, where he and many other vendors do
business, was gutted by fire in June 2002. The city
administration is reconstructing it, despite the fact that Taman
Puring is part of the city's green area. Cholil lives in
Kebayoran Baru. He visits his wife and children in Cirebon, West
Java, every month:

I don't have any comments on politics including the issue on
the reelection of Sutiyoso.

As a matter of fact he is good leader. Well, at least that's
what I've seen so far. It is him who ordered the reconstruction
of the market here following the fire.

But, personally if I were to choose, I would never side with a
person like him. He won the election because he has power and
money to buy friends.

I don't think he could win if people like us have the right to
vote in the election. He won because of his colleagues' votes.

However, I am not really concerned about it. Whoever leads the
city is not important. The most important thing is that we can
survive.

Sutisna, a taxi driver for seven years. He resides in
Cilangkap, East Jakarta:

I don't have any comments on Sutiyoso's reelection because I
don't really follow politics. But I think he should not have
renominated himself in the first place.

It would be much better if he had passed the governorship to
somebody else. It's not good if you hold an important position
for too long.

Sutiyoso was just doing OK in the past five years, not a bad
performance but not exemplary also.

One of his success stories is that he managed to create more
traffic jams. Look on the streets, the traffic is jammed
everywhere as more and more new cars ply the streets.

Purnomo, a taxi driver. He resides in Ciputat, South Jakarta
with his family:

I don't know how to judge Sutiyoso as he had his good and bad
points during his term.

His good points, among other things, is that development went
smoothly. Look at all the new buildings over the city. You would
not think that several years ago parts of the city were ruined
during the 1998 mass riots.

Sutiyoso managed to lead the city reconstruction during the
hard times. Well, most of the buildings are privately-owned.

His biggest success is the closure of the Kramat Tunggak
brothel in North Jakarta. No other governor dared to do such a
thing.

Sutiyoso, however, failed to properly manage the big floods
earlier this year. Indeed it was a natural disaster but the
response was very bad. Most of the relief came too late.

Not to mention that he gave many new taxi licenses.
Nowadays, our lives are already poor. The presence of new taxis
in great numbers may become a threat to our income.