Just another year, Foke!
Traffic gives everyone in the city a headache, including Governor Fauzi Bowo. Foke, as he is popularly known, is facing mounting pressure from the public, particularly road users, who are frequently trapped on the city’s congested roads during peak hours in the morning and evening.
The results of a survey revealed Tuesday confirmed people’s frustration, as 76.61 percent of respondents thought Foke and his deputy Prijanto have done a terrible job reducing Jakarta’s traffic, while 73.2 percent thought the pair was doing a poor job handling problems related to annual flooding.
But, we do not need a survey to know people’s opinion of the city’s traffic. Thousands of road users – frustrated by daily gridlock – obviously give the pair, whose term will end next year, a thumbs-down.
Yes, Governor Fauzi only has one more year to prove he is capable of solving Jakarta’s various problems, particularly the traffic chaos. It is undeniable that the traffic is the capital city’s main problem, as it does not only frustrate road users but also worsens air pollution and causes economic inefficiency.
The governor and the city administration have taken some measures to solve this problem, i.e. preparing for the construction of Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) that will serve the Lebak Bulus bus terminal in South Jakarta to the Hotel Indonesia Traffic Circle in Central Jakarta, attempting to clear a number of roads of on-street parking and going ahead with and expanding the Transjakarta Busway.
Unfortunately, what is being done by the city is just business as usual, which is unlikely to end the already acute traffic problems in the city. Jakarta needs an extraordinary effort to solve this extraordinary problem. And, should the governor come up with a brilliant idea to solve the traffic gridlock, it will be a significant legacy to be remembered by all Jakartans.
But of course we cannot pin all the blame on Governor Fauzi and his administration. Other institutions, particularly the central government, have to support him. It is good that the central government announced Thursday its initiative to design a transportation master plan for Jakarta and its satellite cities, which will be followed by the establishment of the Greater Jakarta Transportation Authority (OTJ).
We welcome the initiative although it is already too late, considering that the city has suffered from this traffic issue for a very long time. We hope that the initiative will be translated and developed by the city administration as guidance for a long-term program of the city’s traffic and transportation system.
But, road users cannot wait too long. Therefore, the city needs to provide a concrete solution to end the long misery of road users.
Hopefully, the central government will come up with a more concrete proposal to solve the problem. And for Governor Fauzi, you still have a year to come up with a solid solution to the problem before you have to deal with people’s critical evaluations if you intend to run for a second term next year.
The results of a survey revealed Tuesday confirmed people’s frustration, as 76.61 percent of respondents thought Foke and his deputy Prijanto have done a terrible job reducing Jakarta’s traffic, while 73.2 percent thought the pair was doing a poor job handling problems related to annual flooding.
But, we do not need a survey to know people’s opinion of the city’s traffic. Thousands of road users – frustrated by daily gridlock – obviously give the pair, whose term will end next year, a thumbs-down.
Yes, Governor Fauzi only has one more year to prove he is capable of solving Jakarta’s various problems, particularly the traffic chaos. It is undeniable that the traffic is the capital city’s main problem, as it does not only frustrate road users but also worsens air pollution and causes economic inefficiency.
The governor and the city administration have taken some measures to solve this problem, i.e. preparing for the construction of Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) that will serve the Lebak Bulus bus terminal in South Jakarta to the Hotel Indonesia Traffic Circle in Central Jakarta, attempting to clear a number of roads of on-street parking and going ahead with and expanding the Transjakarta Busway.
Unfortunately, what is being done by the city is just business as usual, which is unlikely to end the already acute traffic problems in the city. Jakarta needs an extraordinary effort to solve this extraordinary problem. And, should the governor come up with a brilliant idea to solve the traffic gridlock, it will be a significant legacy to be remembered by all Jakartans.
But of course we cannot pin all the blame on Governor Fauzi and his administration. Other institutions, particularly the central government, have to support him. It is good that the central government announced Thursday its initiative to design a transportation master plan for Jakarta and its satellite cities, which will be followed by the establishment of the Greater Jakarta Transportation Authority (OTJ).
We welcome the initiative although it is already too late, considering that the city has suffered from this traffic issue for a very long time. We hope that the initiative will be translated and developed by the city administration as guidance for a long-term program of the city’s traffic and transportation system.
But, road users cannot wait too long. Therefore, the city needs to provide a concrete solution to end the long misery of road users.
Hopefully, the central government will come up with a more concrete proposal to solve the problem. And for Governor Fauzi, you still have a year to come up with a solid solution to the problem before you have to deal with people’s critical evaluations if you intend to run for a second term next year.
Plan B, Mr. President?
The temporary suspension of Indonesian labor export to Saudi Arabia to begin in August reflects the outrage many feel at Saturday’s beheading of Ruyati binti Satubi, an Indonesian domestic helper who was sentenced to death for the murder of her Saudi employer.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said he had sent a note of protest and stressed that the ban would be lifted once Riyadh agrees to provide better protection for Indonesian workers.
However, a blanket ban covering all types of workers will cut the incomes of hundreds of thousands of Indonesians who look to Saudi Arabia as their only means of improving their economic wellbeing. Yudhoyono had better have a Plan B to accommodate those who will not be able to go because of this decision, or those who are returning after their contracts end. Such people will add to Indonesia’s growing number of unemployed and underemployed.
The government should have limited its ban to domestic workers only. Such workers are mostly unskilled young women who, because of their poor education, are most vulnerable to abuse. Working in other people’s households, they are completely at the mercy of their employers. Ruyati had confessed to the murder, but as with similar cases in the past, she may have done it after being a victim of endless abuse.
Other workers with higher skills and a better education are not as vulnerable. They can take care of themselves and should understand the laws of the country they work in. If they commit crimes, by all means the local Indonesian embassy should extend assistance and make sure they are accompanied by lawyers in court.
The total ban on labor export to Saudi Arabia is only compounding the government’s poor management of this sector. Indonesia will not only deprive itself of lucrative foreign exchange revenues from the income repatriation, it will also deny its own people of the right to search for better lives abroad. The government must come up with a better strategy to manage the labor export industry, which should include a plan to completely phase out the export of domestic workers and a clear deadline.
There is no job more degrading than working as a domestic worker, who is nothing more than a modern-day slave. Indonesia would do well to phase-out not only the export, but also the profession. The government must improve the education of young women, while creating better job opportunities for them at home and abroad.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said he had sent a note of protest and stressed that the ban would be lifted once Riyadh agrees to provide better protection for Indonesian workers.
However, a blanket ban covering all types of workers will cut the incomes of hundreds of thousands of Indonesians who look to Saudi Arabia as their only means of improving their economic wellbeing. Yudhoyono had better have a Plan B to accommodate those who will not be able to go because of this decision, or those who are returning after their contracts end. Such people will add to Indonesia’s growing number of unemployed and underemployed.
The government should have limited its ban to domestic workers only. Such workers are mostly unskilled young women who, because of their poor education, are most vulnerable to abuse. Working in other people’s households, they are completely at the mercy of their employers. Ruyati had confessed to the murder, but as with similar cases in the past, she may have done it after being a victim of endless abuse.
Other workers with higher skills and a better education are not as vulnerable. They can take care of themselves and should understand the laws of the country they work in. If they commit crimes, by all means the local Indonesian embassy should extend assistance and make sure they are accompanied by lawyers in court.
The total ban on labor export to Saudi Arabia is only compounding the government’s poor management of this sector. Indonesia will not only deprive itself of lucrative foreign exchange revenues from the income repatriation, it will also deny its own people of the right to search for better lives abroad. The government must come up with a better strategy to manage the labor export industry, which should include a plan to completely phase out the export of domestic workers and a clear deadline.
There is no job more degrading than working as a domestic worker, who is nothing more than a modern-day slave. Indonesia would do well to phase-out not only the export, but also the profession. The government must improve the education of young women, while creating better job opportunities for them at home and abroad.
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