Rano Affirms DKI's Commitment to Safeguard Public Spaces for Citizens to Gather

Jakarta Deputy Governor Rano Karno has affirmed the commitment of the DKI Jakarta Provincial Government to keeping public spaces open as inclusive and democratic venues for the community to gather, discuss, and express their opinions. “Our commitment is clear. Jakarta must remain a city where people are free to gather, voice their opinions, and discuss without fear,” he said in a statement in Jakarta on Saturday. Attending a public lecture entitled “The Dead End of Reform” at Graha Bhakti Budaya, Taman Ismail Marzuki (TIM), Cikini, Central Jakarta, Rano explained that TIM is a cultural space that plays an important role in preserving the nation’s collective memory. “Jakarta, as a metropolitan city, must be supported by a public space ecosystem that encourages the growth of a culture of dialogue,” he stated. Rano assessed that not only TIM, but also university campuses and other public spaces in Jakarta must always be open for the organisation of scientific and critical discussion forums. On that occasion, the Deputy Governor also reflected on Jakarta’s social transformation through the analogy of the popular culture story “Si Doel”. He considered the story not merely entertainment, but a real representation of the community’s struggle in facing the challenges of modernisation, urban planning, and the fulfilment of housing needs. Therefore, he stressed that the people’s struggle to gain access to education, employment, and decent housing must be the main foundation in the formulation and implementation of development policies in Jakarta. “The spirit of social concern must be present concretely in the form of policy, not just formal speeches. The success indicator of every policy in Jakarta is the extent to which that policy is able to ease and humanise the lives of citizens,” said Rano. Responding to the dynamics of development and the challenges of reform presented by Professor Vedi R. Hadiz, a Professor of Asian Studies at the University of Melbourne, Deputy Governor Rano invited all elements of society to remain optimistic. He also quoted a philosophy of the Betawi people in facing every problem. “The Betawi people have a saying, ‘If the road is a dead end, don’t stop, look for an alley, look for a passageway’. Jakarta is a city of a thousand alleys. Through these small, humanist spaces, citizens interact and discuss, and from there pragmatic solutions to advance the city are often born,” he added. The public lecture event was also attended by Member of the Indonesian House of Representatives and historian Bonnie Triyana, representatives of various community organisations, and hundreds of students from various regions. After following the public lecture, Deputy Governor Rano Karno concluded the agenda by reviewing the Collaborative Art Exhibition entitled “EVANESCENCE” at Galeri Cipta 1 TIM. This review served as a tangible form of support from the DKI Jakarta Provincial Government for the development of contemporary fine arts while strengthening TIM’s function as a space for creativity and cultural expression open to the public.