Susilo wants public to shame dirty cities

Rendi A. Witular, The Jakarta Post, Cipanas, West Java

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono urged the public on Monday to become involved in the campaign to make their cities or towns clean by mocking governors, mayors and regents who fail to provide a decent environment.

The remarks reflected Susilo's rage at the inability of many local administrations to make their cities clean, as well as educating their people about the importance of living in a healthy environment.

"I want the media to picture and publish dirty cities. A city with a dirty environment shows the inability of its leaders to manage their cities," said Susilo in a speech delivered at a ceremony to commemorate World Environment Day on June 5.

To make the campaign successful, Susilo also urged local administrations and schools "from kindergarten up to junior high" to start educating children on the importance of a clean environment and sanitation.

"I will travel throughout the country to inspect schools. I will check whether their toilets, bathrooms and yards are clean. If they are dirty then it means the teachers at the school as well as the local administration are incapable of doing their job," he said.

Susilo has earmarked 2009 as a year by which all people will realize the importance of a clean environment. The government expects that after 2009, the country will be able to provide a decent environment for its people.

State Minister of the Environment Rachmat Witoelar, meanwhile, plans to "award" the dirtiest cities as well as the cleanest every July 5 by rank, as part of efforts to improve the environment.

"We will rank the cleanest cities down to the dirtiest annually. With publicizing the outcome, the public will be able to scorn their local leaders over their inability to clean up their cities," said Rachmat at the ceremony.

People in the audience, however, were surprised when the ministry awarded Central Jakarta as the cleanest mayoralty in the metropolitan category despite the garbage that often piles up on street corners in the mayoralty.

For the big city category, the award went to the Riau capital, Pekanbaru; for medium city category, the ministry chose Jepara, East Java; while for the small city category the award went to Bangli, Bali.

President Susilo also presented the Kalpataru environment award to 10 individuals who have preserved the environment.

"These individuals should inspire people in their community to follow their example in persistently preserving the environment," said Susilo when handing over an award to Katrina Koni Kii, a grandmother of seven, who turned nine hectares of arid land in Malimaga village, in West Sumba regency, East Nusa Tenggara, into a valuable plantation.

The 63-year-old Katrina planted cendana (sandalwood) trees, which are scarce, with her five children in order to provide her family with sufficient capital for the future.

Sandalwood trees take 40 years to reach a size suitable for felling and the trunk sells for at least US$700 per cubic meter. The oil of the tree can be used as perfume and medicine. Katrina planted the trees in 1979.

"I just planted the trees for my children. I turned the arid land into a plantation as we don't have any livelihood since my husband died in 1976. But some of the trees I planted are for my grandchildren," said Katrina, who does not speak fluent Indonesian.