`I don't have any faith in the councillors'

`I don't have any faith in the councillors'

The city councillors had planned to hold their 2003 budget
meeting in Ciloto Indah Permai Hotel in Puncak, West Java, on
Tuesday. But due to objections from the public, the councillors
agreed to cancel the meeting and moved to City Hall. The Jakarta
Post talked to some city residents about the meeting and their
expectations of the budget meeting.

Husein, 46, has been working as a taxi driver for 20 years. He
lives in Pesanggrahan, West Jakarta, with his wife and six
children:

I don't care for them as I don't have faith in their track
record.

They are no longer respected as the representative's of the
people since they only represent themselves and their own
prosperity.

My ultimate concern is how to survive as a taxi driver here.
As a driver, competition is tough now because there are too many
taxi companies operating in the city.

People say that Governor Sutiyoso owns one of the taxi
companies. He is already so rich. Why he is so greedy that he
wants to make more money by pushing aside the people like me who
earn so little.

I only wish that the city councillors and the governor would
pay attention to this situation.

Samidi, 47, works as a security officer at a government
ministry. He resides in Depok with his wife and three children:

Frankly speaking, I don't think I can give a positive comment
on the City Councillors decision to cancel their meeting in
Puncak and move to City Hall.

I wonder why they have to hold such a meeting in Puncak when
they have an appropriate place at City Hall.

There is no logical reason for it. The only thing that comes
to mind is suspicion. They planned to hold the meeting at the
hotel because they want to corrupt the budget itself.

I don't believe that what they talk about is in the interests
of the public. They just think about how to enrich themselves.
Corruption is so rampant now that public protests are just
meaningless. During the administration of president Soekarno,
corruption was all done under the table. During Soeharto's regime
it was done on the table. During Megawati's era it's worse as
even the table itself is taken.

The people's representatives always talk nonsense and they're
only interested in money and power. It's the same with the city
councillors.

I don't have any hopes at all in them. I don't believe that
they are on the side of the people.

Cecep, 64, is an employee at a pan manufacturer in Tangerang.
He resides in Kampung Rambutan, East Jakarta with his wife and
six children:

What kind of meeting is that, that it has to be held at a
hotel in Puncak? Thankfully the councillors finally made up their
mind to move the meeting to City Hall on Wednesday.

If they held the meeting in Puncak, they would just take the
opportunity to mark up the budget.

It would be better to allocate that budget for helping the
poor city residents or financing other urgent programs in
Jakarta. The issue actually is much more urgent than the budget
meeting.

I just hope there will be serious concrete actions from the
city government to address the problem of the poverty here.
Hopefully, they will be wise enough to allocate a proper budget
to deal with it.

Dio, 40, works in a supermarket in South Jakarta. He resides
in Tangerang with his wife and son:

If the budget meeting was held in Puncak, it would be just
another way to waste public money.

If it proceeded, the city councillors would only take
advantage of the occasion for their own benefit.

It is a well-known fact that high ranking officials only make
use of the marked-up budget for "official"' activities such as
meetings.

The avaricious high-ranking officials tend to make extra money
from the official budget.

However, the cancellation of the budget meeting and decision
to move to the City Hall is a good step. Otherwise, their plan to
lavish money on the meeting would only enrage the public
particularly in such unfavorable economic conditions.

But I regret to say that it's hard for me to have any hopes in
the budget meeting. The councillors lack public accountability.

-- Leo Wahyudi S.