Jakarta governor Pramono's first 100 days a mixed bag
Jakarta Governor Pramono Anung (right) and his deputy, Rano Karno (centre), talking with a prospective tenant of low-cost rental apartments (rusunawa) in Jagakarsa in South Jakarta on May 8, 2025. - Antara
JAKARTA: While a recent survey reveals public satisfaction with many of Jakarta Governor Pramono Anung's programmes, activist groups have pointed out several flaws in his policies during his first 100 days in office.
The public opinion poll from Indikator Politik Indonesia showed that Pramono's approval rating stood at 60 per cent since taking office in mid-February.
Compared with the approval ratings of his counterparts across five other provinces in Java, Indikator placed Pramono in the second-lowest position.
The survey, released on May 28, also indicated that while around 70 per cent of respondents were satisfied with six of Pramono's surveyed programmes, such as extending the operational hours of public libraries and holding job fairs, better policy communication is needed for Pramono's office to inform more residents.
The pollster's founder Burhanuddin Muhtadi said that only one third of residents were aware of Pramono's programmes, despite Jakartans' high exposure to media.
Since assuming office, the former cabinet secretary has been making efforts to fulfil his campaign promises, either introducing new initiatives like extending operational hours of public spaces or resuming past policies such as the Ciliwung River normalization and relocation of evicted Kampung Bayam residents.
At City Hall on Monday, four Jakarta-based civil groups gathered to release the results of their own assessment of certain programmes of the new Jakarta administration, such as workforce policy and some past initiatives that the city reenacted, such as the river normalisation and the Kampung Bayam relocation programme.
The groups were Greenpeace Indonesia, the Jakarta Urban Poor Network (JRMK), Urban Poor Consortium (UPC) and Jakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH Jakarta).
The results of their assessment showed that the Pramono administration gained an average score of 20 for all of the assessed policies, way below the threshold set by the civil groups, which stands at 75.
The groups particularly criticized how Pramono reenacted the river normalization project and the relocation of displaced Kampung Bayam residents without transparency and without listening to the aspirations of the affected populations, while prioritising short-term solutions that could further harm the vulnerable groups.
Pramono has set a target of completing the Ciliwung River normalization by 2026, a long-stalled project that aims to help mitigate flooding in Greater Jakarta.
In the case of Kampung Bayam, Pramono moved in March several of its evicted residents to a low-cost vertical housing complex (rusun) Kampung Susun Bayam, located near the Jakarta International Stadium (JIS) in Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta.
The residents had been left hanging for years after their former houses were demolished to pave the way for the construction of the sports complex, under the leadership of former governor Anies Baswedan.
The activist groups, however, claimed that the monthly rents in the new housing complex left several residents hesitant about moving as they may be too high.
'The new city administration is trapped in instant solutions, exacerbating the city's perennial problems,' said Greenpeace Indonesia campaigner Jeanny Sirait, referring to problems surrounding floods and land tenure. Chico Hakim, special staffer to the governor, told The Jakarta Post that the administration had received the assessment results from the civil groups, saying that it would look into every criticism and suggestion. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Free Malaysia Today
22 minutes ago
- Free Malaysia Today
Jakarta expects to conclude free trade talks with EU this month
Indonesia and the EU previously disagreed on trade rules for products with links to deforestation. (EPA Images pic) JAKARTA : Indonesia said today that free trade negotiations with the European Union, which have been going on for nine years, are expected to finish by the end of June. Airlangga Hartarto, the chief economic minister for Southeast Asia's biggest economy, met with EU commissioner for trade Maros Sefcovic in Brussels yesterday. 'Indonesia and the European Union have agreed to conclude outstanding issues and we are ready to announce a conclusion of substantial negotiations by the end of June 2025,' Airlangga said in a statement. He did not disclose details about what agreements may have been reached. Denis Chaibi, EU ambassador to Indonesia, said: 'Negotiations are ongoing and substance will determine timing. We will communicate in details when we have an outcome.' The EU is Indonesia's fifth biggest trade partner, with total trade between the two reaching US$30.1 billion last year. Indonesia had a US$4.5 billion trade surplus, Airlangga said. Indonesia and the EU have previously disagreed on EU trade rules for products with potential links to deforestation that could affect Indonesian palm oil, as well as Jakarta's ban on exports of raw minerals. Indonesian officials have been motivated to accelerate talks on free trade agreements, keen to diversify the country's export destinations as they deal with US tariff challenges. Seeking to end US trade deficits worldwide, US President Donald Trump announced sweeping 'reciprocal' tariffs that have since been paused until July. Indonesia is facing a 32% tariff rate.
The Star
7 hours ago
- The Star
North Korea internet hit by a major outage, analyst says
SEOUL: North Korea's internet is experiencing a major outage on Saturday (June 7), said a UK-based researcher, adding that the cause may be may be internal rather than a cyberattack. North Korea's main news web sites and its Foreign Ministry internet site were inaccessible on Saturday morning, according to checks by Reuters. "A major outage is currently occurring on North Korea's internet - affecting all routes whether they come in via China or Russia," said Junade Ali, a UK-based researcher who monitors the North Korean internet. North Korea's entire internet infrastructure is not showing up on systems that can monitor internet activities, he said. "Hard to say if this is intentional or accidental - but seems like this is internal rather than an attack," he said. Officials at South Korea's Police cyber terror response centre which monitors North Korea's cyber activities could not be reached for comment. - Reuters
The Sun
10 hours ago
- The Sun
Trump can bar AP from key White House events for now
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump can bar The Associated Press from some White House media events for now, a federal appeals court ruled Friday, pausing a lower court order to give access to the US news agency's journalists. AP journalists and photographers have been barred from the Oval Office and from traveling on Air Force One since mid-February because of the news agency's decision to continue referring to the 'Gulf of Mexico' -- and not the 'Gulf of America' as decreed by Trump. In April, district court judge Trevor McFadden deemed that move a violation of the First Amendment to the US Constitution, which guarantees freedom of speech and of the press. But on Friday, a panel of judges with the Washington-based federal appeals court ruled that, pending appeal, the government could go ahead and bar AP from 'restricted presidential spaces,' which it said did not fall under First Amendment protections. 'The White House therefore retains discretion to determine, including on the basis of viewpoint, which journalists will be admitted,' the ruling said. 'Moreover, without a stay, the government will suffer irreparable harm because the injunction impinges on the President's independence and control over his private workspaces,' it said. The AP, a 180-year-old organization that has long been a pillar of US journalism, has so far refused to backtrack on its decision to continue referring to the 'Gulf of Mexico.' In its style guide, it highlights that the Gulf of Mexico has 'carried that name for more than 400 years' and the agency 'will refer to it by its original name while acknowledging the new name Trump has chosen.' Trump has long had an antagonistic relationship with most mainstream news media, previously describing them as the 'enemy of the people.' Since his return to the presidency in January, his administration has sought to radically restructure the way the White House is covered, notably by favoring conservative podcasters and influencers. Two weeks after barring the AP, the White House stripped journalists of the nearly century-old power to decide which of the profession's own number will be members of a pool of reporters and photographers covering presidential events. His administration has also pressed to dismantle US government-funded overseas outlets Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Radio Free Asia, and is seeking to starve National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) of federal funds.
