JP/1/Sutiyoso

JP/1/Sutiyoso

Jakarta moves to help
residents, belatedly

The Jakarta Post
Jakarta

It was a case of too little, too late, as Jakarta Governor
Sutiyoso claimed on Wednesday afternoon that the City
administration would take emergency action to alleviate much of
the grief from the floods and chaos which had all but paralyzed
the capital.

After weeks of near procrastination, the governor belatedly
declared that various measures were being taken to help those
affected by the city-wide chaos.

The stopgap measures, which provided little, if any, immediate
relief, in effect were of little comfort to the millions of
Jakartans who were left stranded in colossal traffic jams or had
to helplessly watch their life's possessions being soaked by the
rising water.

As the citywide crisis, which began at dawn, quickly worsened
into a potential national crisis, Sutiyoso hastily rounded up his
aids and mayors on Wednesday afternoon to at least make a public
show that something was being done.

"Actually I should be attending a meeting with other regional
heads now, but I've asked for a leave of absence from the Home
Affairs Minister so the five Jakarta mayors and I can concentrate
on the floods," Sutiyoso said.

After chairing an emergency meeting attended by high ranking
military, police and civilian officials at his office, Sutiyoso
pledged that help was on the way.

If Sutiyoso had taken the situation more seriously and taken
anticipatory steps maybe some of this could have been prevented,
many residents lamented.

The severe rain and flood was not unexpected. For weeks
officials had warned of a sudden increase of rain. The Public
Works Agency had warned that the capital was simply unprepared to
handle it.

But Sutiyoso seemed oblivious to the impending dangers,
repeatedly stressing that floods had long been a problem in
Jakarta and there was nothing he could do about it.

Even as late as Tuesday he again repeated that the necessary
steps needed to be taken would cost huge amounts of money.

Unfortunately, the carelessness of everyone -- officials and
residents alike -- in taking precautionary measures may have cost
the lives of 14 people in the past two days.

On Wednesday afternoon Sutiyoso boasted that residents could
"rest assured that action was being taken".

He said a Flood Monitoring Post, controlled from the second-
floor of City Hall, had been established. This would coordinate
with similar agencies and departments in each of the five
mayoralties to handle flood-related problems.

He also claimed that those who needed help could also call a
hotline for assistance: The main number for greater Jakarta is
351-7984, South Jakarta 739-6321, East Jakarta 4870-2443, West
Jakarta 582-1765, North Jakarta 496-4752 and Central Jakarta 384-
3066 or 385-0636.

However, there was no response when the first two numbers were
repeatedly called by The Jakarta Post on Wednesday night.

Sutiyoso also said that the situation had been upgraded to
"High Alert Status" for residents living near the riverbanks or
near the main rivers of Ciliwung and Pesanggrahan.

The governor's belated action offered little comfort for those
residents who were already knee deep in brown water.

Sutiyoso and other officials on Wednesday evening also got a
birds-eye view of the chaos as he flew around town in a
helicopter to observe the damage.

The governor also claimed that health posts would be set up
for victims.

Without mentioning the amount, Sutiyoso said that his
administration would dip into its reserve fund to help the relief
operations.

Sutiyoso claimed that around 100 tons of rice had been
distributed to five mayoralties in the capital, adding that his
administration had also received 200 tons of rice donated by the
central government.

President Megawati Soekarnoputri has instructed Health
Minister Achmad Suyudi to closely monitor the situation, warning
of the possible spread of disease.

The president plans to visit a few flood sites on Thursday
morning.

Meanwhile, House of Representatives Speaker Akbar Tandjung
urged all government officers to assist residents in the capital.