Welcome aboard, Mr. Moustache

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Sat, 10/06/2007 8:22 AM  |  Opinion

Fauzi Bowo has climbed the ladder from the very bottom to the top of the Jakarta administration, and tomorrow (Sunday) he will officially become governor of Jakarta for the next five years.

Directly elected by the people, Fauzi will take over Jakarta's command baton from his former boss, Sutiyoso, who has ruled the city for the past 10 years with his firm and often ruthless style of leadership.

Sutiyoso is now busy planning the next step in his political career as he angles for a nomination for the 2009 presidential election.

There are certainly some things Fauzi could learn from Sutiyoso, a retired Army lieutenant general. And surely Fauzi, more than almost anyone else, knows how to take the best from Sutiyoso, to whom he was a deputy for the past five years.

Known as Mr. Moustache, Fauzi has all the resources needed for success as governor. First of all, he is the first Jakarta governor directly elected by the people, which means he has the legitimacy to govern.

He has also served in the Jakarta administration for most of his working life, and has helped every Jakarta governor since the respected Ali Sadikin. Fauzi knows the nuts and bolts of Jakarta.

His expertise in urban planning as well as his doctoral dissertation on Jakarta's spatial planning should certainly come in handy. As governor, he can govern not with instincts, but with knowledge and skills.

Assisted by his deputy, Prijanto, a former chief of staff at the Jakarta Military Command, Fauzi enjoys strong political backing from the majority of factions at the City Council. His ability to secure the support of 19 political parties during the election is proof of his political skills.

However, nothing is fixed in politics. This political support could erode if Fauzi proves unable to keep everyone happy. And we know it's difficult to serve the interests of so many different political parties.

So, the challenge now is for Fauzi to remember the interests of these parties while also serving the interests of the general public. We hope he will be able to strike this balance.

The biggest challenge of all lies not in politics but in Fauzi's own bureaucracy. Just like any other local administration, Jakarta is not free from corruption.

One of the ways to reduce corruption is through bureaucratic reform. Selecting the best and the right people, with a high degree of political acceptance, is paramount for launching bureaucratic reform in City Hall.

The fact that Jakarta is largely controlled by different ethnic groups -- Bataks from Sumatra, people from Kuningan in West Java and Bima of West Nusa Tenggara -- is in itself a serious challenge.

Fauzi himself is Betawi, the indigenous ethnic group of Jakarta, but Betawi are a minority in the Jakarta administration.

But knowing Fauzi, we don't believe he will recruit more Betawi people to the city administration just to make it the dominant ethnic group in his administration.

We remember his slogan during the past election campaign, Jakarta untuk semua, or Jakarta for all. We share Fauzi's belief that Jakarta should remain a multi-ethnic city, and therefore no single group should dominate or control the city.

In addition to personnel, bureaucratic reforms should address systems and procedures that open doors for corruption.

Fauzi once said he wanted to introduce an electronic tendering system for city projects to improve transparency and reduce corruption. He ran into opposition from his own people and contractors, a strong indication of collusion and corruption.

Now as governor, Fauzi can introduce best practices, including electronic systems, to reduce physical contact between officials and businesspeople or between officials and people looking for services from the city administration.

Fauzi should also implement his vision of decentralizing services to the village level, bringing services closer to the people.

All in all, Fauzi has everything he needs to deliver all of his campaign promises; to make Jakarta a more secure, peaceful and prosperous city, equaling other major metropolises across the world.

We wish Fauzi a happy and successful governorship.

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