Surjadi leaves a legacy of progress
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!