Sutiyoso: Most maligned governor

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso may well go down in history as the governor who has seen the most demonstrations against himself and his policies.

"During my first term as governor between 1997 and 2002 4,538 demonstrations were staged by Jakartans against me ... from small-scale rallies to ones that led to anarchy," the retired Army lieutenant general was quoted by Antara over the weekend.

The protests intensified when the governor, who will turn 58 on Dec. 6, ran for his second term recently.

From registration as gubernatorial candidate up to his inauguration as governor for the period 2002-2007, people from all walks of life in the city, led by non-governmental organizations, staged rallies against him.

Such rallies will very likely increase as many of his policies, particularly those on migration and the urban poor, have drawn public criticism.

Sutiyoso has pursued a policy of forcibly evicting street vendors, becak (three-wheel pedicab) drivers and other low-income migrants because he says they hamper the process of development and disturb order in the city.

Activists and even city councillors have also questioned his policies on handling the floods, the city's transportation system, and garbage disposal.

Sutiyoso also faced accusations of vote buying in his reelection and corruption during his first term.

He was also declared a suspect in the July 27 takeover of PDI headquarters when he was the Jakarta military commander in 1996.

The takeover of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) headquarters in Jl. Diponegoro, Central Jakarta, by Megawati Soekarnoputri's opponents, was allegedly assisted by military.

Ironically, it was Megawati, as incumbent President, who named Sutiyoso as the gubernatorial candidate from her Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) faction.

Sutiyoso deplored the public's over zealous passion for demonstrations, while acknowledging they were part of the democratic era.

"We struggle every day but never resolve our problems ... We fail to see that we have to solve the prolonged crisis. In this reform era, we are busy fighting one other and forget that the nation's unity is under threat," he noted.