New faces to contest gubernatorial election

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New faces to contest gubernatorial election
Globe Asia | January 03, 2012

Although elections for a new governor for Jakarta are still months away, fresh new faces are standing up trying to take a shot at the top slot formerly dominated by senior politicians and army generals.

It’s a varied list: Prominent economist Faisal Basri, who is running as an independent; Priya Ramadhani, new head of the Jakarta chapter of the powerful Golkar Party; Wanda Hamidah, a social activist supported by the National Mandate Party (PAN); celebrity-cum-legislator Tantowi Yahya; popular Surakarta Mayor Joko Widodo; and Surabaya deputy mayor Bambang Dwi Hartono.

Aside from candidates from the younger generation, three retired generals might also contest the position of governor of the city from 2012–2017. They are incumbent deputy Jakarta Governor Prijanto, retired Major General Nachrowi Ramli and retired Marine General Nono Sampono.

Faisal Basri, who will be running with Biem Banyamin, a native Betawi figure, said he would seek solutions to the city’s main problems of traffic congestion, the lack of a mass transport system, the lack of reliable clean water supply and sanitary systems and concerns over the environment including the lack of green areas.

The duo’s promises include construction of an artificial lake to accommodate flood water and transformation of the city’s waste into power.

According to the law, independent candidates must be endorsed by at least 400,000 of the city’s people. Faisal and Biem are confident that they will get the votes and the contributions they need.

"I am not anti-political party but we need a new political balance which doesn’t come from a political party. I am ready to convince the people of Jakarta with real planned programs. My friends support me so that there is an alternative choice,” said Faisal.

During a discussion late last year, Faisal won the support of prominent Betawi culture activist Mpok Nori, who said she was disappointed with current Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo for not preserving the Betawi culture.

"I hope the next governor can pay more attention to the diminishing Betawi culture. When Jakarta wants to promote Betawi culture to other parts of Indonesia such as Bali, the current Jakarta governor blocks it. I support Faisal Basri and Biem, who is of Betawi origin,” she said.

Priya Ramadhani, an in-law of Golkar party chief Aburizal Bakrie, is on top of the list of Golkar’s candidates for Jakarta governor, according to Golkar legislator Idrus Marham.

“Based on an internal survey, Priya ranks the highest in public acceptance as his main campaign theme is reorganizing the transportation system in the capital city,” Idrus said.

Priya said late last year that the next governor should introduce regulations that suit the condition of the people of Jakarta at the moment. “We should not have regulations which then became a burden for the public. We should govern with a heart and understand what the people are feeling,” he said.

Intensive coordination with the central government must be conducted. The central government must not be ‘hands off’ in overcoming the city’s problems.”

Chairman of the Golkar faction at the city council Ashraf Ali is convinced that Priya will be nominated as Golkar’s candidate. “Although it is still too early, the faction is behind Priya but we still have to make a coalition with other political parties in regard to the nomination of the deputy Jakarta governor,” he said.

Golkar wants to nominate a Golkar party stalwart for governor but Golkar can’t stand on its own when it comes to nominating the governor and deputy governor ticket.”

Incumbent governor Fauzi Bowo wants to run again, but analysts doubt he will get support following widespread criticism for failing to deal with the city's transportation woes and other social problems. According to Globe Asia sources, Fauzi will still have the strong support of the business community.

Moving into the media spotlight is the pretty former actress, city councilor and activist Wanda Hamidah who has ambitious plans for Jakarta but says she is running a lower profile campaign at the moment.

I want Jakarta to be a city that is more humane, one that strives to fulfill the rights of the disenfranchised, including women and special-needs children,” she told the Jakarta Globe.

The main problem with the capital, she said, is that public services are so abysmal that Jakarta’s perception as a cold, uncaring metropolis is inevitable.

All the other candidates will obviously talk about the traffic congestion and the flooding. I’ve also got my own solutions for these key infrastructure issues, but I don’t believe we should only be focusing on these issues at the expense of ignoring the social and humanitarian issues,” said Wanda.

She added that she believed she was ready to take charge of the city come 2012 and enjoyed the backing of the public and of her party, PAN. “I’m ready because I’ve already been in politics for the past 13 years. I have plenty of organizational experience and academic experience, and I believe that I am sufficiently mature for the job,” she said.

I’ve got the support of my party and of the people, from the grassroots to social media activists. So why not?” she said, adding that she had been “groomed for leadership” at PAN.

Wanda, who currently serves on the Jakarta City Council, announced her bid for the governor’s seat late last year. A poll by the web site KabarJakarta.com showed her ahead of all other candidates with 35.9% of votes, followed by Faisal Basri with 31.4%.

Surabaya’s deputy mayor Bambang Dwi Hartono told GlobeAsia he is adopting a very low profile and won’t talk much. He has yet to get an official nod from his Indonesian Democratic Party for Struggle (PDI-P). “It is still too early for me to speak out although to date, there is no official announcement yet on the candidates from any of the major political parties,” he said.

Bambang is known for his successful two terms as Surabaya mayor and his current term serving as deputy mayor. He successfully addressed the issue of clashes between residents and students. He attributed his success to facilitating dialogue among community leaders and representatives.

A conflict-free city came about as the result of much effort. Every year I meet with student bodies, school leaders and community leaders in a forum where I lay out my vision for Surabaya,” he said. “Conflicts that are not addressed will escalate into inter-ethnic violence.”

Bambang adds that like Surabaya, Jakarta has a cosmopolitan population, increasing the risk of outbreaks of violence. He sought the nomination in response to a statement by the chairman of the East Java branch of the PDI-P, Sirmadji Tjondropragolo, to “explore the opportunity and establish communications with elements of society in the capital.”

He identified health care, education and environmental protection as his three key campaign planks. On education, he said that he would prioritize efforts to ensure that all children received an education, improve the quality of teaching and overhaul school infrastructure and curriculum.

The Jakarta governor post has been dominated by senior military figures since the time of late Marine Lieutenant General Ali Sadikin, who transformed Jakarta from a big village into a modern metropolis from the 1960s until the late 1970s. He was succeeded by retired army generals H. Tjokropranolo, R. Soeprapto, Wiyogo Atmodarminto, H. Surjadi Soedirdja and Sutiyoso, who was then succeeded by civilian Fauzi Bowo.

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