Taking governor to task

Taking governor to task

From Bisnis Indonesia

The following ideas were conveyed by Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso in comments he made on separate occasions:

1. Violating city bylaws by building a villa without a building permit was just "for fun" (Kompas of Feb. 20, 2002). If a leader can do something for fun, will the people also be allowed to have fun?

2. "It is hard to organize aid for flood victims, so it is also difficult to gather together rubber dinghies". Meanwhile, the city administration has some Rp 500 billion in surplus. So, what will the money be used for? How come the Jakarta administration's performance in helping flood victims was worse than that of NGOs and radio stations? (Metro TV, Feb. 19, 2002).

3. Former governors are to blame for floods (Tempo, Feb. 2002). Therefore, as the floods are considered a "legacy" people are required simply to accept this disaster as unavoidable and leave the rest to fate.

In fact, Jakarta suffered through major flooding as far back as 1996. However, since his appointment as Jakarta governor in 1997, Sutiyoso has not earnestly endeavored to handle flood- related problems in the city.

In the case of the recent flooding, the Meteorology and Geophysics Agency and some TV stations issued weather forecasts to warn people of the likelihood of flooding long before the disaster struck. It seems the government simply turned a deaf ear and a blind eye to the forecasts.

4. Building permits have been issued for locations where the city planning does not allow for construction. The governor should be held responsible for this matter.

I still remember the governor's statement on one television station that if people were not satisfied with the way he handled the flooding, he would resign.

YUNI BUDIASTUTI

Jakarta