Nur Mahmudi prioritizes better public services
Nur Mahmudi Ismail's mayoral candidacy has puzzled some of his colleagues because, as former forestry minister, becoming mayor would be a drop in status.
"It is a mandate given by my party that I cannot reject. Moreover, I believe, with the capacity I have, I can do better serving Depok residents," he said.
With his running mate, Yuyun Wirasaputra, Nur Mahmudi, who is also former chairman of the Justice Party -- now the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) -- has a long list of ambitions for Depok.
Nur said, first off, he would look at improving public services.
"We often receive reports about illegal fees imposed by unscrupulous officials on residents who need their service. It is a serious problem that needs to be addressed. But how to address it? First I need to know the real problem," he said.
He said civil servants would look for "additional income" because of their low monthly salaries. Therefore, he said civil servants' welfare would be another priority.
He said he could improve conditions for civil servants through increasing the Depok municipal budget threefold.
He said the first step toward increasing Depok's revenue was to facilitate Depok residents, who worked in Jakarta, to pay their income and vehicle taxes in Depok. Currently, he added, the majority of Depok people paid their income and vehicle taxes in Jakarta.
He said he was optimistic that Depok people would support his idea because the program would be offered door-to-door and residents would not pay a cent for document transfer from Jakarta to Depok.
Nur said he could collect over Rp 100 billion (US$10.53 million) from the program. This year, Depok's budget was Rp 488 billion.
Other potential financial sources include tourism, as the industry is not fully developed, he said.
He said his administration would push the central government for the development of new toll roads connecting Depok and Jakarta. He would also use the city budget to construct and widen roads in districts.
Other programs offered by Nur and Yuyun include the decentralization of services to subdistrict level, job creation, better health service, low-cost education, preserving Depok as a water conservation area, and creating a more detailed Depok master plan.
Nur Mahmudi Ismail was born in Kediri, East Java, Nov. 11, 1961 Recent education: Doctorate in Food Science and Technology, Texas A&M University, in 1991 Organizations: The Prosperous Justice Party and the Indonesian Engineers Association, the Institute of Food Technologists.
Yuyun Wirasaputra was born in Bandung, West Java, June 15, 1945 Recent education: the Langlang Buana University, Bandung, in 1989. Organization: Member of the advisory board of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and the Depok chapter of the Indonesian Civil Servant Corps (Korpri).