W. Jakarta mayor vows to cut notorious red tape

W. Jakarta mayor vows to cut notorious red tape

Fadjar Agustinus Panjaitan was installed on Friday as the new
West Jakarta mayor, replacing Sarimun Hadisaputra. He will lead
the second largest municipality in the capital, which has an
estimated population of 1.9 million.

The vestiges of the old city of Batavia, which was built
during the Dutch colonial era, can still be seen in West Jakarta.
Efforts have been made recently to revive the old town.

Fadjar, formerly the Jakarta District Administration Office
head, is known for his love for basketball and tennis. Born in
Siantar, North Sumatra on Aug. 26, 1955, he started his career
with the Kepulauan Seribu (Thousand Islands) district in 1976 and
later had a four-year stint as Cakung district deputy chief in
East Jakarta. His career in the administration continued with
another six years as Kalideres district chief, West Jakarta, and
Sawah Besar district chief, Central Jakarta.

He was nominated in 1996 as the best district chief during his
tenure in Kalideres. His district was nominated as the best
service provider at the municipal level in 1997.

His experience has given him a comprehensive knowledge of the
needs of local residents.

Fadjar shared his views with journalists, including The
Jakarta Post's Damar Harsanto, on his policy to cut red tape and
improve services for residents. Here is an excerpt of the
interview.

Question: What is your vision as the new mayor for a better
West Jakarta?

Answer: I will prioritize three things: to serve the public,
empower the community and develop the society under my
leadership. All my policies will always refer to those pivotal
ideas.

What do you mean by serving the public?

Public services must be fast, cheap and simple. We will be
efficient and effective by cutting the bureaucracy and minimizing
red tape. I have learned from my experience in serving the public
that residents would be pleased to receive quick and inexpensive
services from our officials.

Better services are not only delivered by officials at
subdistrict and district levels. Agencies closely related to the
public -- the construction supervision and regulation agency, the
population and civil registration agency and the spatial agency
-- must also provide better services.

What sanctions will be imposed on officials who fail to
provide better services?

I will refer to the existing regulations. If they fail to
comply, they will be replaced and moved to other posts.

Are you ready to be evaluated in the next six months and
replaced if you fail to perform?

Yes, I am ready. Besides my own priority list, I will also
continue following up projects established by my predecessor
including solving traffic woes, improving the environment and
widening public access to education and health.

Are there any urgent issues you plan to address immediately?

I have learned that areas where Jakarta borders Tangerang have
been left behind in terms of development. For example, the areas
around the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport are in dire need
of adequate public transportation to facilitate residents'
mobility. Improvement of public transportation in the area will
be on my priority list.

We will also actively take part in the project to implement
the city's macro transportation system as one of Governor
Sutiyoso's strategic projects. (Two major transportation projects
that will involve West Jakarta are the monorail and busway
projects. The construction of both is expected to be finished
next year.)

So far, you have not mentioned any projects to revitalize
heritage buildings in the old city in your programs. Did you
forget to mention it?

The revitalization of heritage sites remains one of our key
programs. Frankly speaking, there are some issues which I have to
study before I proceed with certain policies.

The fact that most of heritage buildings are currently owned
by private parties, and not the government, is another problem.

I have heard that some building owners have been active in
promoting the revitalization (of the old city) program. I will
try to discuss the matter with them.