The honeymoon is over, Let’s give Jokowi a hard time

The honeymoon is over,  Let’s give Jokowi a hard time Amron Hamdi ;  A Graduate of Texas A & M University and Syiah Kuala University in Aceh

JAKARTA POST, 12 Januari 2013

It has been interesting to follow the hype following Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s campaign and eventual victory in Jakarta’s gubernatorial election. The erstwhile mayor of Surakarta, Central Java, and his running mate, Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama, have earned an enormous amount of public adulation surprisingly quickly and easily. It was only a matter of time before people started to use the phrase “Jokowow” to describe the unconventional and populist moves made by Jokowi and Ahok. The latest “Jokowow”, which was also praised nationwide, was the governor’s descent into a sewer on one of the city’s busiest streets, Jl. Thamrin, on Dec. 26.  He used the occasion to announce plans to build a tunnel stretching from Jl. MT Haryono in South Jakarta to Pluit in North Jakarta to help resolve five of the city’s most persistent problems: flooding, a lack of potable water, waste management, public transportation and poor infrastructure for public utilities. Critics said that he should have just looked at existing studies on the problems instead of engaging in yet another publicity stunt Whatever their motivations, Jokowi and Ahok have certainly won the sympathy and respect of the public — formidable assets in promoting their plans and ideas. The pair’s adroit use of mainstream and social media also deserves praise; Videos of their meetings with city officials and of field inspections are now easily accessible via YouTube and are frequently broadcast by local television channels. The business of the people previously conducted in star chambers is now done before the public candidly, revealing interesting facts about Jakarta’s management — and mismanagement. Kompas has dedicated a daily column reporting on the first 100 days in office of the dynamic duo, a fact that underscores the relevance and attractiveness of Jokowi’s plans to the people of Jakarta and to the nation in general. It is very understandable why people in the country long for government officials who genuinely work for the greater good, and not the greater good of special interests or the corrupt. We all have had the same feeling of being cheated by officials and representatives who came off very strong at the very beginning while turning out to be just another disappointment. Examples of our disappointment are legion: Andi Mallarangeng is under investigation for his involvement in the corruption related to the Hambalang sports center; lawmaker Angelina Sondakh only sentenced to four-and-a-half years’ imprisonment, much less than the 12 years’ demanded by prosecutors, in the same scandal. Suffice it to say that the people in this country had few options as when choosing honest and capable leaders before Jokowi and Ahok emerged as long-awaited saviors. Nevertheless, despite the hype and promises that the dynamic duo has made, should the public have high expectations? The answer is no. It is not that Jokowi and Ahok are untrustworthy or incapable of undertaking the massive reforms and projects that Jakarta requires. It is simply because what they have been doing is what government officials are supposed to be doing. To berate lazy and incapable staff is what any governor or vice governor is supposed to do, just as they are also expected to inspect flood canals during the rainy season, to have transparent development and budget meetings as well as alleviating poverty and protecting minorities.  Simply put, Jokowi and Ahok are doing what they must as the leaders of Jakarta. Sure, the way that they are executing their duties is somewhat new and refreshing; but it is important to keep in mind that we also need to see results. Looking at the track record of our previous leaders, there is no other choice but to be tough on our current leaders. It might be harsh and cruel, but that’s what our elected leaders signed up for. Public service is not for cowards, lazy bums or short-cutters. There are a host of more comfortable and easier ways to get career satisfaction, wealth and the other things life could offer. As they chose to be in public service, Jokowi and Ahok need to work harder to prove that they are who they say they are. For sure, publicity stunts are sometimes necessary to direct people attention to certain issues; in Jokowi’s case, I am sure the events were also staged to teach his subordinates how to get things done. But we need to be mindful that it takes more than publicity stunts to execute plans. The sustained work needed to realize Jokowi’s plans will be demanding; planning and budgeting, regulating, coordinating, implementing, monitoring and so forth. These processes should also be transparent so that the public can adjust their expectations as to what is doable and what is not. In short, we do not want to see other aspiring leaders lazily “copy-pasting” what Jokowi and Ahok have done to get approval from the public while doing something else behind closed doors. Giving Jokowi — and any other local or national leader — a hard time is what is best for us. ●

Jokowi’s toughest job: Traffic chaos

Jokowi’s toughest job: Traffic chaos Bambang Nurbianto ;  A Journalist at The Jakarta Post

JAKARTA POST, 13 Oktober 2012

Without belittling other problems in the capital, the daily severe traffic jams constitute the most serious challenge that Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama will have to address soon after they are officially inaugurated as the city’s governor and deputy governor. Traffic congestion is the source of daily frustration for more than a million road users. It is also the cause of inefficiency as many people have to spend hours on congested roads, while their vehicles have to burn more fuel. The traffic congestion also contributes more pollutants into the city’s air. Therefore, the Jokowi administration has no choice but to complete his mission to solve this traffic problem. Otherwise, people will say that he is just another governor who has failed to deal with the problem and has only prolonged the misery of road users. The thesis of Jokowi’s transportation policy is very simple: “Traffic gridlock can only be solved by improving public transportation, not by constructing more roads.” He seems to have heeded the advice of former environment minister Emil Salim, who said that constructing more roads would only encourage more people to drive their cars to get around. Therefore, no matter how many roads are built, they‘ll never be enough to meet the increasing number of cars wanting to run on them. At the level of implementation, Jokowi will certainly face great challenges because many parties may be negatively affected by his wish to improve public transportation. The greatest challenge may come from the automotive industry, which is certainly unhappy with Jokowi’s policy, as car sales will threatened if his mission succeeds. Another challenge will come from road developers. Under Fauzi Bowo, the city administration planned to develop six inner-city toll roads worth nearly Rp 44 trillion (US$4.6 billion). With the shift of focus on the transportation policy, Jokowi is expected to revise the plan and use the resources instead to improve public transportation. Private operators and drivers on public transportation vehicles are also unhappy with his policy. They are concerned that the policy will affect their business, although Jokowi has promised to help them improve their services for passengers. Here is what Jokowi is offering. According to Ahok, the new administration plans to deploy 1,000 more buses along the busway corridors within the first year of his five-year term. If the program succeeds, it will be a great leap in the effort to improve the Transjakarta service. A shortage in the number of buses is the main reason why Transjakarta has failed to encourage motorcycle and car users to shift to the busways, as they do not want to have to queue in long lines at bus terminals or shelters. They are also not ready to sweat inside crowded buses. However, neither Jokowi nor Ahok have revealed the details on how they will finance such a project. Will they use taxpayers’ money? Or will they invite investors? Neither option will be easy. If they want to use taxpayers’ money, they have to convince the city councilors, which will be a tough job for them as the two political parties that supported them in the recent election only have 17 out of the total 94 seats on the City Council. Meanwhile, if they want to invite private companies to invest, they will need to convince the business community that the transportation business is profitable or the city administration will have to offer incentives. Outgoing governor Fauzi did not succeed in his attempts, despite trying both options. Jokowi also plans to replace certain busway corridors with special bus lanes in an effort to improve the capacity of the transportation system, but he may need to carry out further feasibility studies before he goes ahead with the plan, particularly if he wants to determine whether the result is worth the amount spent on the project. On the other hand, Jokowi plans to continue with the existing plan of mass rapid transit (MRT) construction and to revive the monorail project that Fauzi stopped after he failed to convince the central government to offer assurances to financial institutions, which were ready to invest in the project. Will Jokowi have a better argument to convince the central government? Another important proposal from Jokowi is his wish to establish a joint transportation authority, which will involve cooperation with the administrations in Jakarta’s neighboring cities — Bekasi, Bogor, Depok and Tangerang. He realizes that Jakarta cannot work alone to solve the congestion problems because more than 600,000 cars and motorcycles head to Jakarta from these satellite cities every day. It is certainly not an easy job to form such a joint authority because each administration has its own plan and its own problems. South Tangerang administration, for example, was forced to halt its bus rapid transit (BRT) project, which was due to be connected to the Jakarta busway system, after it attracted strong opposition from local public transportation operators and drivers. Another measure that Jokowi has planned is to enforce more traffic restrictions — electronic road pricing (ERP), high parking fees and police number-plate restrictions — to curb the use of private vehicles. Like in many other cities, traffic restriction measures are a good way to discourage people from driving their cars for their daily use. However, traffic restrictions will only succeed if Jokowi manages to improve public transportation services, such as reliability, affordability and convenience for passengers. With better public transportation, car owners may opt to leave their cars at home. Most of Jokowi’s traffic improvement strategies have indeed been on Fauzi Bowo’s menu at one time or another. Unfortunately, Fauzi failed to execute his plans before Jakartans took back their mandate. So, what is the difference between Fauzi and Jokowi? At least we still have the hope that Jokowi will be able to keep his promises. Jokowi has often said that to end the city’s traffic chaos is only a matter of execution. He is right, but certainly executing the plan will not be a simple thing. His leadership will face a major test in dealing with other parties with their conflicting interests. ●