Sutiyoso 'Busway' song a vehicle for self-promotion?

Sutiyoso 'Busway' song a vehicle for self-promotion?

Bruce Emond
The Jakarta Post
Jakarta

April 1 is still a ways off, but some Jakarta residents might be
excused for assuming that an online news report is nothing but a
piece of clever tomfoolery.

Tempointeraktif reported on Saturday that Governor Sutiyoso is
set to release his first solo album, Transjakarta, with the song
Busway as its main claim to fame.

The song, the online news service reported, is a takeoff of
Paul Anka's My Way, covered thousands of times by lounge singers
around the world but with its most famous rendition done by Frank
Sinatra.

It has also become a favorite song of defiance among local
politicians, with President Megawati Soekarnoputri presenting a
rather shrill version during a visit to Papua last year, after
she had been assailed for her failure to speak up on crucial
issues.

Sutiyoso's Busway may also be his vehicle to thumb his nose at
his many critics, who have had plenty of opportunity to skewer
the retired Army lieutenant general for leadership choices during
his term in office.

His latest brainchild, the Trans-Jakarta Busway project, has
been panned by many as unsuited to the particular transportation
needs of the capital.

Tempointeraktif quoted some of Busway's refrains, which
revealed liberal artistic license with Anka's lyrics, including:

"I've looked buses are full
I've traveled each and every highway
And more, much more than this
I did it BUSWAY ...

"I planned each charted course
Each careful step along the busway
Oh, and more, much more than this
I did it Busway ...

"And may I say, not in a BUSWAY,
Oh no, no, not me,
I did it BUSWAY"

Tempointeraktif quoted Sutiyoso as saying the cassette is "in
process", but the governor's spokesman was unavailable for
confirmation on Saturday night. There was also no confirmation if
Sutiyoso had sought permission from Anka for his artistic
diversion.