Don't just blame it on the rain

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Wed, 02/14/2007 5:17 PM  |  Opinion

Irma Hutabarat, Jakarta

Here we go again. The city had five years to prepare, but it still failed to stop massive floods from swamping the capital. The disaster has caused an estimated Rp 4.1 trillion in material losses, claimed the lives of at least 48 Jakartans and forced 320,000 people to flee their houses.

Portions of Jakarta were paralyzed -- except for the fingers of government officials, who quickly began to point the blame toward each other, Mother Nature and the media.

This series of events remind me of a song from the infamous 1980s lipsync band, Milli Vanilli: Blame it on the Rain. It seemed everybody was chanting the once-popular refrain and deflecting responsibility for the flood, probably the worst ever to have struck Jakarta and its neighboring towns.

Let's start with the person who is supposed to be responsible for the wellbeing of Jakarta, Governor Sutiyoso. He said the flood was a natural phenomenon which was beyond his capacity. But what about all those buildings that have been erected without proper permits or planning? What about those green areas that he allowed to become shopping malls or skyscrapers?

Coordinating Minister for the People's Welfare Aburizal Bakrie accused the media of dramatizing the floods. ""The victims are still laughing,"" he claimed. What about the estimated 190,000 suffering from diarrhea, respiratory problems and skin diseases? What about all those who lost their belongings? Are these plights not dramatic enough? If Aburizal says the sad facts are exaggerated by the media, can we assume that he has ensured every victim receives proper assistance and medical treatment?

Even though the government failed to anticipate the flood, Vice President Jusuf Kalla assured there will be no floods next year. No doubt he knows there is a five-year cycle. If floods hit Jakarta next year anyway, perhaps we can ask Kalla to pay compensation for his false promises and also ask him to take action against those deemed responsible for the disaster.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono promised that the East Canal construction project would be completed and city planning would be improved. He speaks quite a lot in ""future tense"" and imperative statements, but will the promises ever materialize?

The worst scapegoating came when government officials blamed squatters who had been living on the riverbanks for ""destroying the environment"". They are easy victims in the blame game due to their so-called illegal status -- even though they have ID cards and access to electricity, water and phone lines, and even though they participated in the elections.

Former Philippine president Corazon Aquino once promised to serve only one term in order to ensure a peaceful transition and bring deposed president Ferdinand Marcos to justice. She fulfilled her promise. It's quite rare, if not unknown, in this country for public officials keep their own promises. Many politicians and parties spend a lot of money and words to lure voters ahead of an election, but break their promises as soon as they win their seats of power.

Another quality our leaders lack is good service and commitment. An American fast-food chain sets a good example through its boast: ""If your order doesn't come in five minutes, you'll get a free drink."" Customers have formed long lines expecting to exceed the five-minute limit. But it has never happened. Why? Because the company knows its capabilities.

A company I worked for adopted a similar commitment to customers. We would not ask clients to pay if we missed the deadline. This kind of commitment boosted employees' attitudes and spirit.

What about our leaders? Do we see them share that attitude and spirit? We haven't heard them set out their goals for dealing with floods. Thus we can't measure progress toward the goals. We never know whether there are any carrots or sticks for government officials depending on that progress.

Only if government lives up to universally accepted standards can we pin our hopes on officials to prevent floods and other disasters. We can't blame it on the rain anymore.

The writer is a non-governmental organization activist.

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