Surjadi leaves a legacy of progress
By Stevie Emilia
JAKARTA (JP): After serving the city for five years, Governor Surjadi Soedirdja, who is known for his discipline, modesty and consistency, ends his term of office on Monday.
Once an assistant in the Armed Forces sociopolitical section and Jakarta military commander, Surjadi said that he never dreamed of being governor of the capital.
"Jakarta is huge and the problems are many and complicated," the 59-year old governor told The Jakarta Post during a farewell party held by City Hall reporters on Wednesday.
Despite his tight schedule, Surjadi always used his spare time to meet poor Jakartans, especially in his weekly visits on Friday and Sunday mornings.
"Silahturahmi (meeting to strengthen relationships) with Jakartans is one of my priorities," said Surjadi, who fell into the muddy Opak river in North Jakarta during one such visit.
The weekly visits were born out of his office's inability to accommodate people's requests to meet him, he said.
"The visits are designed to show the city's attention and care, particularly to low-income people," said Surjadi, who arrived at City Hall at 6 a.m. sharp every day.
Surjadi normally attended Friday prayers with local people during his visits. On his Sunday visits, he took along businessmen to meet and talk with the poor.
"My target is knocking the hearts of the businessmen to help our less fortunate residents," he said.
Praise
Former city council speaker, M.H. Ritonga, regarded Surjadi as a committed, wise and straightforward person.
"He has succeeded in realizing the city's policies," praised Ritonga.
As an example of Surjadi's good character, he said the governor declared himself as one of the parties that should be blamed for the misuse of building permits in Kemang, South Jakarta.
Another example, Ritonga said, was Surjadi's frequent calls for his subordinates to ignore anyone who sought favoritism in city projects by claiming to be his close friends or relatives.
"It shows Surjadi's commitment to quality, not nepotism," said Ritonga.
But Surjadi's strict action apparently did not find favor with most of his subordinates, which sometimes caused tension between him and his staff.
"Surjadi was always aware of his officials' misbehavior and punished undisciplined staff," said Ritonga.
Surjadi's pessimism only emerged when he talked about the city's chronic traffic problems, which he referred to as "unsolvable in the near future".
The rapid growth of vehicles, which is 14 percent a year compared to 4 percent for road construction, is blamed for worsening the city's traffic.
The city is now home to some nine million people, who own 2,165,200 vehicles. The total length of the capital's roads is 5,907.95 kilometers.
Migrants
Like previous Jakarta governors, Surjadi was also helpless to prevent the annual flood of around 300,000 migrants to the capital.
For Surjadi, the unskilled migrants only created more problems for the city because most ended up as illegal street vendors.
Despite much development progress, Surjadi said two problems still needed particular special attention: high unemployment, which is around 400,000 people, and the widening economic disparity.
Jakartans' per capita annual income increased by 68 percent from Rp 5.8 million in 1993 to Rp 8.5 million in 1996.
In 1995, the number of poor people was down to 497,000 people from 804,000 in 1984.
The percentage of people living below the poverty line declined from 5.65 percent in 1993 to 2.48 percent in 1996.
The governorship, however, was not free from the influence of greedy businessmen attracted to using green areas for their own benefits.
Surjadi has been praised as one of the country's few governors who could "force" those living in slum areas to live in low-cost apartments.
"Whether you like it, or not, Jakartans should stay in apartments due to land shortages and to experience better living conditions," said Surjadi, who received Adipura awards for his five mayoralties' cleanliness.
Ambitious plan
His ambitious plan to make Jakarta one of the great cities in the world can be seen from several projects planned under his administration.
During his term, Surjadi planned the construction of the US$2.3 billion subway project in cooperation with local and foreign investors.
He also approved the planned construction of the three-tier transit system connecting Bintaro in South Jakarta and downtown Kota, which will start in December.
"Both projects are important to solve Jakarta's severe traffic problems," said the recipient of the Bintang Mahaputra Utama and the Parasamya Purnakarya Utama from President Soeharto for his work.
Surjadi also started the plan to turn part of the Jakarta bay into a waterfront city by reclaiming 2,700 hectares from the bay.
The chairman of the North Jakarta Reclamation Implementation Board, M. Sidarta, regarded Surjadi as an "output-oriented" person.
"He always wants us (officials) to give the best result, whatever the circumstances," he said.
Another landmark project under his administration was the launching of an international shopping and tourism belt on Jl. Prof. Satrio, South Jakarta. This is expected to boost Jakarta's image as a service city.
The governor, who has loved writing since he was a child and even won awards for his efforts while at junior high, once wished to be a journalist.
"If I hadn't joined the military, I'd have become a journalist myself," he once said.
Surjadi married Sri Soemarsih in July 1964 and has two sons: M. Satria Negara, 31, and Yusuf Sanggara B., 29.
He graduated from the National Military Academy in 1962 and the National Resilience Institute in 1991.
After successfully completing the Advanced Officer Training School in 1969, he went on to the Army Staff and Command School in 1974 and the Joint Services' Staff and Command in 1979. He retired from the Army as a lieutenant general.
When asked what he planned to do from next Tuesday, he said: "I wish for people's blessings. I believe that whatever is bestowed upon me and my family is the best."
Selamat jalan (Goodbye) and good luck, Pak Surjadi!