Surjadi hopes Jakarta will become great city

JAKARTA (JP): Outgoing Governor Surjadi Soedirdja says he hopes his successor will continue developing Jakarta to become one of the world's great cities, and one where the gap between rich and poor narrows.

Surjadi, who was speaking at a farewell gathering with City Hall journalists Wednesday evening, said he acknowledged the difficulty Jakarta faced in becoming both a great and more equal city.

"In my opinion, this work will not be completed in the short term because everything is developing so fast," he said.

"But, let's pledge to reduce people's suffering."

Surjadi, who ends five years as governor on Oct. 6, when he hands over to Maj. Gen. Sutiyoso, Jakarta's former military commander, said the capital was home to some of the world's richest and poorest people.

"Let us try to bridge the wide gap between many of the people," he said.

Surjadi, who is the first governor to have made weekly visits to Jakarta's subdistricts to talk with the people, said his personal approach had helped improve his understanding of the differences in the community.

"Jakartans are from many walks of life, but with a personal approach they let us know their problems," he said. "That's what I learned while doing my duty as governor."

Surjadi said the open-door approach helped promote cooperation between officials and citizens.

"This is a communication era. There should be no communication barriers," he said.

Surjadi said the gap between rich and poor in Jakarta had reached a "critical" stage.

Citing a 1996 World Bank report, he said the city's income gap index had risen over the past 10 years from 0.29 to more than 0.4 -- the ideal figure is 0.

Of the city's nine million inhabitants in 1995, around 497,000, or 5.7 percent, were classed as poor.

Last year, Jakartans earned an average of US$3,600, up from $3,200 in 1995. The national average was $917.

People's needs

In an effort to reduce the wealth disparity, Surjadi urged officials not to wrestle with minor issues while there were more important matters pressing for their attention.

"Officials should try very hard to give the best and quickest service to people.

"If we're not aware of people's needs, we will be left behind because development is proceeding while we're wrestling with small matters," Surjadi said.

At the gathering Surjadi also played down criticism of two ambitious transport projects supported by his administration: a US$2.3 billion subway and a three-tier transit system to be funded by a consortium of private investors.

"Both projects are needed to solve Jakarta's traffic problems," he said.

Work on the transit system is due to start in December, but no starting date has been announced for the subway.

Another megaproject began during Surjadi's term of office was the reclamation of North Jakarta Bay to turn the area into a waterfront city.

The launching of the international shopping and tourism belt along Jl. Prof. Satrio in South Jakarta was also expected to boost the capital's image as a service city, he said. (ste)