Ruling the capital is 'difficult but interesting'

Many firmly believe that his days in the Medan Merdeka Selatan office are numbered with possibly only a few weeks to go. This turn of events is due to him being named as a suspect in the July 27, 1996 forcible takeover of the PDI headquarters. Whilst convinced that he is a victim of political circumstances but also insists that he is ready to face the consequences, Governor Sutiyoso revealed his thoughts on the matter, hopes, and aspirations to The Jakarta Post reporter Fabiola Desy Unidjaja.

JAKARTA (JP): In the 473 years of Jakarta's history, Sutiyoso is the only governor who's tenure has been under three presidents.

But the ailing economic woes, growing trend of vandalism and brutality, and political instability during his term in office, especially in the third year, have seemingly exhausted the energy of the retired three-star military general.

"It is very tiring to be the governor of the capital.

The city has a lot of problems of its own, while the central government added to the burden with political disputes among the elites," Sutiyoso said in an interview at the Jakarta Governor office in Central Jakarta on Wednesday.

"Physically, I am not tired because as a soldier I am used to tough physical training, but my mind is. It is not easy to lead a capital city," the 56-years-old man said.

But the former Jakarta Military commander quickly added that he still hopes to complete his five-years of tenure as the city governor successfully.

Sutiyoso described his experience during the first three years of ruling the capital as "difficult", "irritating", but nevertheless "interesting".

"Only a few months after I was posted as governor, the reform took place," he said, referring to the massive calls for reform by students and activists across the country in early 1998 when Soeharto still ruled the nation but later resigned in May of that year.

"It has been difficult for me because I had to adjust my way of thinking to lead civilians rather than soldiers which is what I was trained to do.

More than that, I have to deal with the new reforms," he added.

"It was very irritating, but finally I got used to the (anti- government) rallies."

A few months after his appointment, a major economic crisis rocked the country, followed by massive anti-government student protests and finally the tragic May unrest in the capital that lead to the downfall of Soeharto on May 21, 1998.

Sutiyoso then had to deal with continuing rallies against Soeharto's successor, B.J. Habibie.

Finally, the country's first democratic general election in 1999 brought President Abdurrahman Wahid as the country's new leader.

According to Sutiyoso, who was born in the Central Java capital of Semarang on Dec.6, 1944, Jakartans could be dubbed as the common portrait of the country's heterogeneity, but this has all changed during the past three difficult years of the reform movement.

People, who used to agree with every decision issued by the government, are now not content with this and even have the audacity to say "no" to rulings from their leaders as if such opposing acts are cool and sophisticated, he explained.

Demands for transparency and public accountability from their leader most of the time went too far and limited the authority and freedom of the governor to make decisions for the capital, he said.

Sutiyoso considers that the reform movement in the capital has somehow gone too far, leaving the city with extra problems to deal with.

He contended that people today preferred to oppose and reject any decisions made by the Jakarta administration without considering the interests of other people. They just merely want to criticize the administration, he said.

"Those who say 'no' (to the decisions) in order to gain notoriety and become popular people in the capital," said Sutiyoso.

"The combination of the economic crisis, political disputes and rallies on the streets have turned the metropolitan into a very difficult place to control.

... and as the leader I have the responsibility to repair the situation," he said.

"I know reforms needed to implemented and it has been done with a good degree of success but the society needs effective law enforcement which has the ability to cover the interests of the general public.

People should understand that by always saying 'no', does not mean that problems will be solved," the governor said.

He is optimistic that more and more Jakartans would understand the policies taken by his administration.

"If people understood the reason for every decision I have made then they would not go against me. Like the old military adage, a soldier is only willing to die if he believes there is a good reason to do so," he said.

"The main point is, just like in the military, we have to make people understand the reason for every decision we make," he remarked.

Sutiyoso was at the same class with the high-profile Gen. (ret). Wiranto at the National Military Academy (AMN). He graduated from the academy in 1968.

He spent most of his military career in the elite Army Special Force, Kopassus, and was the deputy chief of the special unit in 1992.

He has taken part in many military operations in the country, including the Seroja military operation in former province of East Timor in 1975 and the Aceh Freedom military operation.

His unforgettable tour of duty in East Timor inspired him to name one of his daughters with the name of the then provincial capital.

Overseas training and education also added to his long curriculum vitae with a stint at the military officers training course in Canberra, Australia for a year in 1989. He received two internships at Brigade V Airborne in Arnheim, England in 1987 and at the 82d Airborne Division in Fort Bragg, United States in 1991.

"When I have had to deal with problems in the capital, I remember the times spent in the special forces and think, I triumphed in those hardships when in the military, I can surely accomplish this task as well," Sutiyoso said.

Another thing that he had learned in the last three years is the importance of the ramifications of every decision he has to make for the welfare of some 11 million Jakartans.

"Most of the time I have had to consult experts before I make any decision because everybody in the capital, councillors, people and non-government organizations frequently assess the actions of the administration," he said.

Sutiyoso promised that the economy in the capital will recover soon as there have been encouraging signs of an economic upturn. Furthermore, the implementation of the regional autonomy plan, which theoretically would provide benefits to the city, is just a few weeks away.

He pointed out that when he took the position as governor in 1998, the revenue of the city was only Rp 1.7 trillion. The figure rose to almost double that to Rp 3.2 trillion on the second year of his term.

The revenue in the 2000 City Budget has been set to reach Rp 4.05 trillion, while the figure in the coming budget is estimated to total some Rp 7.49 trillion.

"From the drastic improvement in the city's revenue, I feel confident that the situation will improve the welfare of the people and they will recover from the economic hardship," Sutiyoso said.

"With more revenue and more authority, due in part to the implementation of the regional autonomy next month, we can develop the capital and use resources that will benefit all Jakartans," he added.

The big different between the capital and the other provinces is that Jakarta does not have any natural resources, Sutiyoso said.

But the major advantages of the province is it's number of qualified human resources.

"There are many intelligent people in Jakarta, and we have many financial sources from taxes and valuable assets in the capital. We actually could build Jakarta as a service and trading city like Singapore," he said.

"With the coming regional autonomy, the governor will have the authority to introduce a global plan and develop the province. I am sure that the city will once again thrive like before the crisis."

However, he underlined in order to make Jakarta a service city, security issues will need to be addressed.

Lack of coordination within the Jakarta police sometimes hamper his effort to improve the security situation in the city.

"That is why I am focusing the coming budget on security matters because when people feel secure they will operate businesses here," he said.

"Hopefully, there will be a clear regulation about the position of the police. If this can be established and the governor had the authority over the police then I feel that the implementation of a better city security system can be achieved," Sutiyoso added.

When asked about his aspirations for the last two-years of his tenure, Sutiyoso said he wish to establish a strong base for the capital so his predecessor will have a smooth path to build Jakarta on and continue the legacy he will have left for increased prosperity.

"Let me be the governor that deals with the tough problems and constructs a strong base for the capital.

I wish to be remembered as a good governor. After that I can rest and take care of my family," he closed the conversation.

Governor Sutiyoso is married to Setyorini, 46 and they have two daughters, Yessi Riana Diliyanti, 25, and Renny Yofnita Arianti, 20.