Sutiyoso's power grab rejected by neighbors

Theresia Sufa and Multa Fidrus, The Jakarta Post, Bogor/Tangerang

The Tangerang and Bogor administrations have objected to Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso's proposal that Jakarta assume control of the surrounding cities.

However, Bogor said it would compromise only if the Greater Jakarta was controlled by a central government minister.

Bogor City Councillor A. Rohili said Tuesday that Sutiyoso had no authority to control Bogor as the city was governed by the West Java provincial administration.

"Where is the governor's authority to control Bogor? It's different if Greater Jakarta is controlled by a minister," he said, referring to a proposal by former state minister of the environment Emil Salim.

Emil had said in 1996 that Greater Jakarta should be led by a governor with ministerial level authority. He argued that problems occurring in the capital had always been related to the surrounding cities of Tangerang, Bogor, Depok and Bekasi.

Another Bogor councillor, Hotman Damanik, said that geographically speaking, Bogor should have been integrated with Jakarta.

"However, I agree that Greater Jakarta be led by a minister," he said.

Separately, Tangerang City Secretary Wahidin Halim said that such an idea needed further study and discussion.

"We already have the mechanism of formatting regions and the law on regional autonomy. I think controlling the surrounding city is just an idea from Governor Sutiyoso," he said, adding that the idea might violate Law No. 22/1999 on regional autonomy.

Sutiyoso told House of Representatives Commission I overseeing, among other things, political affairs that the neighboring administrations should be governed by Jakarta. The commission is revising Law No. 34/1999 on the Jakarta administration.

Sutiyoso said expanding Jakarta's power would help solve the increasing problems in the capital, including floods, garbage and transportation, which were all caused by the surrounding cities.

The Jakarta administration is in dispute with the Bekasi municipality administration over the Bantar Gebang dump site, which Bekasi says causes environmental damage and health problems. The dispute in late 2001 caused a garbage crisis in the capital, where 6,000 tons of garbage are discarded daily. Waste was left to rot in the streets.

Jakarta also blamed Bogor for the huge floods that hit the capital in early 2001. A total of 19 people were killed during the tragedy that isolated the capital.

Around two million commuters from the four cities also contribute to massive traffic jams in the capital, particularly during peak hours.

Rohili said the Bogor and Jakarta administrations had been working together well in several areas, including finding an alternative garbage site, although many Bogor residents oppose the idea.

Meanwhile, Wahidin said that Jakarta should have been fairer in looking at the problems.

"It's not right to blame each other. It is more important to cooperate ... to overcome the existing problems," he said.