'No improvement in law enforcement'

Many people say that a nice and comfortable city or country depends a lot on law enforcement. How do lawyers see Jakarta, as one of the most crowded and polluted cities in the world, under Sutiyoso's administration? They shared their opinions on Sutiyoso's performance in enforcing law with The Jakarta Post.

M. Mahendradatta was born in Jakarta 42 years ago. The graduate of the University of Indonesia Law School now runs his own law firm.

I have not seen any significant improvement in terms of law enforcement during Sutiyoso's tenure as governor. He has failed to maintain public order in the city.

In general, nothing is really different compared to the previous governors.

Similar poor performance can also be seen in his effort to eradicate corruption. Sutiyoso must have lied when he claimed that his administration was clean of such practice. We all know that he lobbied councillors to achieve his goals. We've also heard about Ancolgate.

I think it is all related to the governor's attempt to maintain his post.

In reality, many officials from city agencies often charge residents more than the official fees, especially when it comes to public services.

Johnson Panjaitan was born in Jakarta in 1966. Now he serves as a general secretary to the Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights Institute (PBHI).

I personally think Sutiyoso has failed to maintain law enforcement, let alone to improve it. Everyone here would be amazed by his list of failures.

He is reluctant to probe corruption, collusion and nepotism in his administration. He was even involved in the Ancolgate corruption case.

If we look at the huge floods earlier this year, on a certain level, he should be held responsible because the root of the problem is the administration's violations against the city plan.

Some corrupt officers allowed high-profile developers to build housing complexes or office buildings in green areas. And Sutiyoso did nothing against the violators.

While Jakartans, as the taxpayers, deserve clean and comfortable public transportation, Sutiyoso doesn't have any good will to improve the current situation. He only has plans.

His administration did nothing when many public transportation drivers increased their fares although the administration had yet to approve the request.

I believe he is the worst governor compared to the previous ones.

Mulyadi Goce has lived in Jakarta since the 1970s. Now he is a lawyer with the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute.

Sutiyoso is just like other bureaucrats in the country in that corruption in state institutions occurs under the authority of the number one people in the institutions.

Marking up a project's budget has become commonplace and institutionalized. Has Sutiyoso attempted to reduce the practice? I don't think so.

His idea of building casinos in Kepulauan Seribu (Thousand Islands) shows that his administration has failed to manage the rampant proliferation of illegal gambling dens in the city. -- JP