With dubious achievements, does Sutiyoso deserve reelection?

Ahmad Junaidi The Jakarta Post Jakarta

It is difficult to cite Governor Sutiyoso's achievements this year. Probably the most striking ones are the award he received from the Jakarta Diplomatic Corps for helping to facilitate the work of diplomats here and an honorary PhD he got from Pusan University of Foreign Studies in South Korea.

If we cite the elimination of becak (pedicabs) from the city and the increase in the city budget as among his "successes", then many would debate it.

It is easier to cite examples of his failures, such as the forced eviction of disadvantaged people from slums.

Let's start with his "achievement" in ridding the city of more than 6,000 becak after months of clashes with becak drivers.

More than Rp 30 billion (US$3 million) in funds had been spent to finance public order operations against becak which were banned in city bylaw No. 11/1988 on public order.

The operations triggered clashes with becak drivers, who were supported by several non-governmental organizations. One of the clashes occurred in the Roxy area, where a civilian security guard was killed, dozens of officers and becak drivers injured, and several cars belonging to the public order office were torched. Had Sutiyoso not invited the pedicab drivers to operate in the city again in 1999 when the country was hit by the economic crisis, the clashes would not have occurred and the funds could have been used to finance other more urgent programs.

The governor repeatedly argued that he had allowed them to operate in 1999 because of the economic crisis. Have we emerged from the crisis this year so that the drivers should no longer be permitted to continue their operations?. We are still in an economic crisis.

His other claim to success is the increased budget. The governor has managed to increase the city budget from Rp 4.98 trillion last year to Rp 8.1 trillion this year.

However, it would be correct to say that most of the 2001 budget was raised through tax payers contributions, while the city-owned companies, those of which were not suffering losses, contributed very little.

A coalition of non-governmental organizations led by the Urban Poor Consortium criticized the budget for its lack of transparency and for the disproportionate allocation of funds for the socially disadvantaged.

Sutiyoso, the former Jakarta military commander, has often been criticized for the way his administration conducts their public order operations using violent and coercive methods, including raids against squatters living on riverbanks.

Guarded by hundreds of police officers, the city public order officers bulldozed makeshift homes along riverbanks witnessed with tears by the poor, and now homeless, people.

These marginalized people had been living there for years and were subject to the same obligations as other Jakarta residents, such as paying taxes and the like.

The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) deplored the operations, saying that the administration had violated human rights.

Many say that the people should not have been evicted without proper compensation since the administration had "allowed" them to stay there for years.

Another failure of the governor, who assumed the city's top post in 1996, is his management of the city's garbage, which is still a very serious problem as the Bekasi administration has only agreed to reopen the Bantar Gebang dump for one month. Bekasi has warned that if no satisfactory agreement is reached then it will close it again.

The prolonged dispute with the Bekasi municipal administration, which demanded the closure of the 104-hectare Bantar Gebang garbage dump due to environmental damage, shows a lack of proper planning for such a huge metropolis.

Sutiyoso has encountered difficulties in finding new sites to dump the 25,000 cubic meters of garbage generated by city residents every day. Garbage has been piling up as a result throughout the city.

As land prices are prohibitively expensive, the administration should look to more advanced technology which needs a smaller land area to recycle garbage, which has increased annually along with the growth in the city's population.

The planned cooperation with four private firms to recycle the city's waste using biotechnology is believed to have began since the Bantar Gebang dispute with Bekasi.

Sutiyoso's record in ending collusion, corruption and nepotism (KKN) and enforcing the law in the spirit of reformation was poor. (jun will add examples to support that statement)

So could we mention any other reasons to support the reelection of Sutiyoso in October next year? It would be difficult for him to make his mark in lasting achievements in the remaining 10 months.

The governor has reportedly began to lobby certain politicians for his reelection for a second term.

Some believe that Sutiyoso, with his financial resources and strong political backing, will be reelected.

If Sutiyoso were reelected, what significant progress will Jakarta achieve?