Sutiyoso wants to extend the reach of his rule
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso wants to expand his power.
The former general, often criticized for his inability to govern Jakarta, told a House of Representatives' commission tasked with revising Law No. 34/1999 on the Jakarta administration, that he wanted to assume control of the surrounding cities, including Bogor, Depok, Bekasi and Tangerang and Cianjur.
Sutiyoso claimed on Monday that he needed the power to address a number of issues plaguing the capital, specifically environmental concerns, the crippling annual floods, transportation, clean water supplies and garbage.
"Such authority should include overseeing land use in areas like Depok, Bogor and even Cianjur," he told the commission.
He asked the House to revise the law to give him the authority to solve the problems, saying that without it all efforts to handle the problems would be useless.
The governor has often blamed neighboring administrations for Jakarta's problems, including the floods. He has failed to take responsibility for the city's own failures, including, among others, the narrowing of the rivers, residents dumping garbage in the rivers and poor drainage systems, which have all contributed to the devastating and deadly floods.
He has said that poor spatial planning and the development of villas in Bogor and Cianjur and the resulting deforestation had contributed to the flooding.
It then emerged that Sutiyoso owned a villa in Bogor, which he demolished to show his commitment to his statement that the development projects caused floods in the capital.
The administrations of Bogor and Cianjur have refused to halt the development of villas, which they say contribute needed revenue.
Besides the problem with the regencies, Jakarta is involved in a dispute with the Bekasi mayoralty over the capital's main garbage dump in Bantar Gebang.
In December 2001, Bekasi closed the Bantar Gebang dump site due to environmental and health concerns, leaving Jakarta choked with uncollected garbage.
After the central government intervened, Bekasi reopened the 100-hectare dump site but Jakarta had to pay compensation of Rp 22 billion (US$2.5 million).
Jakarta officials have often complained that they were being "blackmailed" over the compensation.
However, they have no choice other than to comply as no alternative arrangements to process the city's 6000 tons of garbage a day have been made.
The House commission earlier invited representatives from the surrounding administrations to present their views.
At Monday's hearing, several issues, such as the gubernatorial election, were discussed.