Saturation point: Getting that sinking feeling once again
Saturation point: Getting that sinking feeling once again
On our way back home during a downpour, my husband suddenly broke
the silence with a chuckle. Curious, I asked him what was so
funny.
"(Governor) Sutiyoso will probably have a few nightmares
tonight," came the reply. "It'll be impossible for him to enjoy a
good night's sleep when everybody is cursing him as we speak."
In fact, my husband and I were also among those city residents
making some dark mutterings about the flood control program -- or
sorry lack thereof -- that kept us on the road even longer than
usual.
The really annoying thing is that we live in a flood-free area
but once we reach Jakarta on rainy days, we are in the same boat
of dealing with flooded streets and traffic deadlock.
And I am sure that we're not alone in saying a few choice
words about the powers that be.
The more than 1,000 families in Jakarta forced to leave the
warmth and comfort of their homes are not happy campers. On the
streets, stressed motorists are not paying Sutiyoso any
compliments.
The governor may also be a bit concerned by the fact that most
newspapers and television news programs ran the floods as their
lead stories over the past few days.
What confounds me is that flood control is still on the back
burner of priorities as the city administration doles out money
to "modernize" its transportation system by introducing the
TransJakarta Busway, or beautifies the city with more statues and
even herds of deer.
It seems a case of "out of sight, out of mind", for when the
floodwater recedes, the officials conveniently forget about
yesterday's devastation.
Yet flooding's effects are extensive: Schools are closed,
people forced out of their homes and unable to go to work,
traffic is disrupted, roads damaged. The losses every year, both
material and in the frustration caused to the public, are huge.
And it's the same routine year after year.
It's a given that we will see officials paying the victims a
visit -- distributing donations (mostly instant noodles),
chatting with the displaced residents and posing for the media.
Hello? How about dealing with the real problem. Wait a minute,
the answers are all the same again -- "everyone must take part in
dealing with this flood problem, we (the city administration)
cannot do it alone"; "we have no money to do it"; "it's caused by
an uncertain weather phenomenon" and "it's due to the people's
bad habits in dumping their waste in the rivers".
It's the same old excuses.
We citizens pay taxes every year, for land, on our income,
cars, not to mention from dining in restaurants or staying in
hotels. Surely some of that money can be funneled to better flood
control projects.
I agree with the governor that protecting the environment is
everyone's business, something that can be done at home, like in
saving electricity, water or proper waste disposal, and at work.
But policymakers play a much greater role in determining the
fate of our environment by taking the lead. Unfortunately, they
simply just don't get it.
Environmental protection efforts suffered another blow this
month when the Jakarta State Administrative Court ruled in favor
of the land reclamation project on Jakarta's northern coast.
State Minister of the Environment Nabiel Makarim lashed out at
the judicial panel for setting a bad precedent. He expressed his
regret at how the environmental impact analysis for the project,
warning of its potential to cause widespread environmental
damage, was annulled by a court decision.
I guess if our top officials are still in the dark about
protecting the environment, preferring to give the OK to more
luxury shopping malls, housing complexes, hotels or business
centers, flooding is here to stay. This year, next year, last
year, the year before ... I guess we are just swept away by other
concerns.
-- Stevie Emilia