Yus-Soetadi promise free education
Concerned that many children have no opportunity to continue their studies due to economic hardship, Depok mayoral candidate Yus Ruswandi is pledging to make education free for students from poor families if he is elected.
To ensure this happens, Yus and running mate Soetadi Dipowongso have proposed to establish fee-free schools in slum areas.
Yus and Soetadi were nominated by a coalition formed by the United Development Party (PPP), the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), and the Prosperous Peace Party (PDS).
The former Depok deputy mayor argued that the nine-year long compulsory education program imposed by the central government would continue to be ineffective if it was not backed up by local initiatives for free education in poor areas.
Yus stressed the need to lower school fees across the board so that Depok residents were not burdened by high education costs.
"Free education is part of our efforts to eradicate poverty ... Better education would empower the poor and allow them to improve their welfare by themselves," Yus argued.
Yus said his administration would pay serious attention to the degraded Depok environment because the municipality functioned as a water preservation and flood control area for Jakarta and Bekasi.
Speaking about his economic development program, Yus said the pair would focus on the improvement of trade and the service sector.
They would also make it easy for investors to start businesses in other sectors, including housing and other environmentally friendly cottage industries, he said.
Yus said the development of those sectors would accommodate the quickly growing number of job-seekers in the municipality.
Along with helping people start small-scale enterprises, the administration would open more training centers to provide workers with new skills, Yus said.
Building new roads and widening existing roads in areas prone to traffic jams would be measures prioritized in Depok's infrastructure development plan, he said.
Yus said he would also push for the development of toll roads by the central government.
"Chaotic traffic congestion is a major problem for Depok residents, many of whom are daily commuters to Jakarta, therefore we must address this problem immediately," he said.
Yus Ruswandi was born in Ciamis, West Java, Sept. 17, 1949 Recent education: State Administrative Institute (LAN) in Jakarta, 1986 Organizations: Depok chapter of the Indonesian National Sports Committee (KONI), the Bogor Regental Soccer Team (Persikabo).
Soetadi Dipowongso was born in Klaten, Central Java, July 17, 1947 Recent education: Degree from a Semarang-based university, Central Java. Organizations: The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI- P) and Depok chapter of the Indonesian Muslim Council (MMI).