Sutiyoso says he is ready to serve again
Ahmad Junaidi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
City Governor Sutiyoso ate his own words by announcing his readiness to be reelected in the next gubernatorial election, which is due to be held in October, if he was firmly supported by the public.
"If the people strongly support me and there are no other strong candidates, then I'm ready," Sutiyoso said at a meeting with editors at City Hall on Thursday.
The governor's statement marked a turnabout as previously he had always stated that he had no desire to be elected as governor for a second five year term.
His announcement could also be considered an "official" wakeup call for the other potential candidates whose names are currently being bandied around.
"Let the candidates show themselves first. And then we will evaluate whether they are capable of running the city or not," he said.
Sutiyoso reminded the editors of his achievements during his military career when he was best military resort chief until he was promoted to Jakarta Military Commander.
He also revealed his dreams of developing a modern and "green" Jakarta with low cost apartments and good public transportation, all of which proved impossible to realize during his first term.
Some factions on the City Council, including the largest, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) faction, the second largest, the United Development Party (PPP) faction, and the faction of the former ruling Golkar Party are reportedly being lobbied by Sutiyoso.
The governor will be elected by the 85 city councillors. The PDI Perjuangan has 31 councillors, while the PPP and the National Mandate Party have 13 councillors each.
The Indonesian Military (TNI) and Police faction has nine seats on the council while Golkar has eight seats. The remaining 11 seats are divided up among six minor parties.
Sutiyoso has been strongly criticized by the public and non- governmental organizations over his policies in dealing with the poor and in tackling the recent floods, which paralyzed many parts of the city recently.
Several non-governmental organizations (NGOs) had earlier demanded that the city governor should be elected in a direct election and not through the current system by the city council.
They also demanded that the next governor be drawn from outside the military as the election of a militaryman would betray the reform agenda and democratization process.
Some candidates with military backgrounds have been mentioned as strong contestants in the election. They include State Intelligence Agency (BIN) chief Lt. Gen. (ret) A.M. Hendropriyono, and former Udayana Military Commander Maj. Gen. Adam Damiri.
The NGOs have accused Hendropriyono and Adam of being involved in past human rights violations.
Only a few civilians are reportedly interested in the governorship, including the current city secretary Fauzi Bowo and former deputy governor Harun Alrasyid.
Harun said earlier that he was ready to resign from his current position as the West Nusa Tenggara Governor if he was elected as Jakarta governor.