Sutiyoso ordered to fix traffic jams
Sutiyoso ordered to fix traffic jams
JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto ordered the newly installed
Jakarta Governor Maj. Gen. Sutiyoso yesterday to eradicate slum
areas and reduce traffic congestion in the city.
The President also asked the governor to hold more dialogs
with various ethnic communities in an effort to reduce
interethnic conflict.
"The President told me to use my whole energy and thoughts to
enable me to lead the country's capital well," Sutiyoso said
after meeting with Soeharto at the Bina Graha presidential
office.
Soeharto said the construction of low-cost apartments was the
only alternative to reducing slum areas due to land scarcity.
"The people living in slum areas must be convinced the
conversion of slum areas and their removal from there are not
aimed at destroying their life but improving it," Sutiyoso said.
The city is home to about nine million people and has more
than 2.1 million cars. Roads in Jakarta cover 6,000 kilometers,
while the city's total area is only 661.26 square kilometers.
Sutiyoso was installed on Oct. 6, replacing Surjadi Soedirdja.
On street congestion, Sutiyoso said that not less than 1.5
million vehicles use Jakarta's streets everyday. He said he is
still studying the best ways to solve traffic problems.
The governor also disclosed his plan to privatize city parking
management and abolish the "three-in-one" areas during rush
hours.
"I will review the policy because why should we maintain an
ineffective policy?" he asked.
He said he might introduce monthly stickers for entering
certain, congested areas during rush hours.
The city applies a requirement for a minimum three passengers
in a car from 6.30 a.m. to 10 a.m. on Jl. M.H. Thamrin, Jl.
Jendral Sudirman and Jl. Gatot Subroto thoroughfares.
However, motorists can easily pass the streets by paying
jockeys -- people earning money by being the third passenger in
restricted areas.
"We are still studying the best ways to solve this problem,"
he said.
Soeharto also told Sutiyoso to pay more serious attention and
listen to the aspirations of ethnic minorities living in Jakarta.
"Jakarta is the main migration destination for people across
the country. It highlights perfectly (the principle of) unity in
diversity," said the former Jakarta Military commander.
Jakarta was often described as "honey" for migrant "ants"
because its average income per capita in 1996 was US$3,600, much
higher than the country's income per capita which was only $1,155
for the same year.
The capital's budget for 1997/1998 is expected to be about Rp
3.369 trillion ($910 million).
Most of the migrants in Jakarta are from West Java, Central
Java and Yogyakarta, East Java, North Sumatra, South Sumatra and
West Sumatra, according to 1996 Jakarta statistics.
The President also instructed the governor to stop student
brawls and enforce discipline among Jakartans.
"We must enforce discipline in basic elements ranging from
queuing, disposing litter in the proper place and in punctuality,
because many civil servants still do not come to work on time,"
the governor said.
In September, the public order office recorded 12 cases of
brawls in which three students died, 13 were injured and 147
others briefly detained for questioning.
This month, three students have died in student brawls. (prb)