Profiles: Jakarta councillors
Amid allegations of vote-buying during the election for the Jakarta Council speaker, councillors have pledged to work together to fight institutional corruption and create a better, more humane city for residents. The Jakarta Post's Bambang Nurbianto has gathered profiles on the 75 councillors, along with their thoughts on the most pertinent issues for the capital. Here are profiles on councillors from the Nation Awakening Party (PKB) and the Star Reform Party (PBR) factions.
Moh Mansur Syaerozi PKB Born in Banyuwangi, East Java, 1957 Education: Diploma from the National Banking Academy, Jakarta Wealth: Rp 959.50 million (US$106,611)
Changing the image of the City Council is one of my objectives within my term here. Reform started six years ago, but the current condition is not much better than before. Some say it is worse, as those who voiced anticorruption campaign during the past regime are now part of the problems.
Before the inauguration ceremony, my wife told me not to betray this mandate given by the people. I promised myself to do my best so that my constituents will not be disappointed in voting for me.
I have an agenda on the empowerment of people's economy.
I think we have to encourage the people to open small and medium enterprises because such businesses will create many jobs. Therefore, the City Council must push the administration to significantly allocate funds for programs focusing on small and medium-scale businesses.
Fathi Rahmatullah PBR Born in Jakarta, 1963 Education: Diploma from Jayabaya Accountancy Academy, Jakarta Wealth: Rp 308,50 million
The welfare of the people in the grassroot level must become our priority. The City Council must focus on economic development. With better economic conditions, we will be able to create a lot of jobs.
But I believe that the economic development has a close relation with security condition. The economy will grow well if we have good security. Therefore, we must seriously address the security problem.
Law enforcement, I think, is the answer. We must punish those who violate any regulations. If we do not punish those who commit wrongdoings, it will become a bad precedence for law enforcement. It will inspire others to do the same thing.
About the relations between the City Council and the city administration, both institutions must be partners. The City Council must encourage the administration to formulate policies that are only for people's interests.
Councillors must be critical against policies that are against people's interests.
Yusuf Hamdani PBR Born in Jakarta, 1935 Education: Vocational High School for Economics Wealth: Rp 6.78 billion
Annual flooding is a serious problem in the city. It seems that we are powerless to resolve it. But I believe that we have not done our best. I think, resolving the flood problem should involve all Jakartans.
For example, each resident must have a well to accommodate rain water. If all houses in the city have such wells, they will significantly reduce flooding. It will also resolve water scarcity during dry season.
Meanwhile, the city administration must go ahead with its flood control projects. The construction of the Eastern Flood Canal must become our priority. The public work agency must continuously maintain rivers to help the smooth flow of water from upper areas.
Garbage is another serious problem in the city. It seems that the city administration has no concrete concept on how to resolve it. We still rely on Bantar Gebang dump in Bekasi to handle 6,000 tons of garbage Jakartans produce everyday.
I hope the administration will soon formulate a concept of waste management so that we will not rely on other regions anymore.