Palembang to get ASEAN clean award

Khairul Saleh ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Palembang   |  Wed, 10/08/2008 10:32 AM  |  The Archipelago

Palembang, the capital city of South Sumatra, will officially receive an ASEAN award for being the cleanest city in Indonesia, to be presented in Hanoi, Vietnam, on Wednesday.

One city in each ASEAN country, except Singapore, will receive a cleanest city award, in categories for clean water, land and air, Palembang mayor Eddy Santana said Tuesday.

"We are so happy to receive this award. This achievement is part of our success. Residents and officials have cooperated to realize Palembang's potential as the nation's cleanest city," said Eddy, adding the success was also partly the work of previous municipal administrations.

Eddy said Palembang had once been considered the dirtiest city in Indonesia, especially at the 16 Ilir traditional market and around pack Ampera bridge.

That was until the city launched a campaign with the motto BARI (Clean, Safe, Neat and Beautiful) during the 1980s to encourage citizens to transform the dirtiest city into the cleanest, he said.

The government's cleanest city award incentive program prompted all provinces in Indonesia to clean up their act.

Palembang managed to receive the Adipura award twice in a row (2006-2007) for its success in cleaning the city.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has also declared Palembang the cleanest city in Indonesia this year.

"We hope that the award will encourage us to keep the city even cleaner," said Eddy, adding that Palembang received the honor because of its success in developing clean land and providing clean water for more than 80 percent of its residents.

However, deputy director of the South Sumatra chapter of Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi), Muhammad Fadli, questioned Palembang's achievement.

"I am happy to hear Palembang has received this award. But there are still many administration programs that are not environmentally friendly, such as the reclamation of land for developing residential and offices sites," Fadli said.

"People here still suffer from floods when the rains come. We still have many environmental challenges."

He said he hoped the award could inspire both the municipality and its residents to be more careful with their surroundings.

Fadli also said he hoped Palembang, as the cleanest city in Indonesia, could provide more green space for its residents and become a model for other provinces in developing an environmently friendly city.

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