Jokowi, the Jakarta Controversial Governor

Who is now the top news-maker in Indonesia? Many people will answer almost unanimously: “Jokowi”. Joko Widodo, the full name of Jokowi now the Jakarta governor, does indeed attract so many people, not only in Jakarta but the whole country. He was awarded as the world third best mayor by the England-based City Mayors Foundation, after Bilbao City Mayor, Spain, and Perth City Mayor, Australia, due to his outstanding achievement when he was the Solo city mayor. 

As a new metropolitan governor, his humble behavior doesn’t change as he was to be as Solo city mayor. He had done "grubby" things that no other bureaucrats of the same level want to do. He likes to go down to earth directly to the core of the problems, instead of staying in the luxury office doing notional things. He didn’t have any burden to walk around in the slum areas or the illegal site of sidewalk traders and picking up the first-hand information for the sake of having better city condition. 

The improvement of the city and the socio-economic conditions of his people were not his only concern. Even he put his hand on the construction of the car by the local Vocational High School students, the deed that actually should be taken by higher-ranking decision-makers.

No wonder that he easily gained votes in all Jakarta municipalities except in Thousand Islands defeating the incumbent governor, Dr. Fauzi Bowo. Even low-income families living along the railway tracks and river banks welcome him. They know though that Jokowi may dismantle their illegal huts hoping to get better resettlement in new plain cluster houses that Jokowi promises to build in the nearby areas. 

To implement his working program, Jokowi is very firm, as he doesn’t like his subordinates to have business as usual and indifferently doing their duties inspirited. Fortunately, he is supported by Basuki Purnama, his deputy, who is also pragmatic as himself whom he assigns to deal with administrative works. Basuki, whose nickname Ahok, under the auspice of Jokowi, imposes his subordinates to set up more efficient municipal work program and budget, review the cost of mega-projects and make use of the excess budget for coping the acute traffic jam and seasonal flood problems. 

As Basuki handles most of the office works, Jokowi can concentrate to take in his “hobby” making incognito tours surprising many of his district heads. During one of his unexpected abrupt tours in Marunda, North Jakarta, he was surprised to find that many cluster houses intended for low-income families were still half empty. As the rented cost was relatively cheap there must be something tricky that his subordinates may gain illegal profit for themselves. 

The intermediaries are used to sneaky around offering people to get the accommodation inside cluster houses but with some extra handsome ransom. The head of city housing program soon resigned or otherwise be fired as he deceived people telling that nobody from the slum areas was eager to move to the cluster houses. 

To cope with the latent traffic jam, Jokowi proposed to impose the alternate restriction in certain roads on cars having even-or-odd plate number replacing the three-in-one regulation. As expected, there are pros and cons to this new idea drawing president’s attention asking for a careful study before putting it into effect. 

On top of his priority to expand the busway armada, he cautiously reconsiders the existing mega-project plans among others mono-rails, fly-over, city toll-road sections and new proposal on multi-function tunnel designed for coping with both water flooding and traffic problems.

One of the flagship programs of the governor is the free Jakarta Health Cards. Coinciding with National Heroes Day, Jokowi launched the cards in some districts marking the beginning of the card distribution to all Jakarta citizens, rich and poor, hoping that only poor people numbering to 4.7 million will really want to take the benefit of it.

Unfortunately, his goodwill was shadowed by heavy floods taking place during his first 100-working days which inundated the whole city, the presidential palace included, which forced him to intensify his abrupt visits to various places in the city searching for a future better solution. 

Dear Mr. Governor, welcome and good luck!