Governor: Jakartans make, shape the capital

Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo on Thursday rejected suggestions that the administration imitate Singapore in the planning and developing of the capital into a compact city.

The suggestion was voiced at the “Jakarta vs Singapore: A Comprehensive Comparison” seminar in Central Jakarta, where participants discussed the past and future of spatial planning of both cities.

Fauzi said there were contrasting characteristics between the two urban areas, most notably the political and social aspects.

“The people of Jakarta would need convincing to change culturally [if Jakarta was planned as a compact city] and I am not sure
whether this is the route the people of Jakarta would like to take,”
Fauzi said.

He said an important aspect in the current character of the city of 9.5 million was that Jakarta witnessed firsthand the transition to a democratic Indonesia in 1999.

“Reporters Without Borders ranked Singapore 137th out of 178 countries in its 2010 Worldwide Press Freedom Index and they make the point that economic growth does not mean press freedom,” he said.

At the seminar, Khoo Beng Peng, a member of the Architectural Design Review Committee for Singapore’s Housing Development Board, said urban planners bracing for significant population growth in a limited area should look to Singapore as a “model compact city”.

“Our government is planning for Singapore to house 6.5 million people in its 710-square-kilometer
territory.

Theoretically, the entire global population of approximately 6.5 billion can be housed in 1,000 Singapores — or 0.5 percent of all land on Earth,” Khoo said.

Khoo said he believed Jakarta had to address to points if it was going to improve: citizen participation and strong governance.

“I like the idea of gotong royong [mutual cooperation]. If every Jakartan participated in improving the city, starting from their own environment, very soon the whole city can become better.”

Khoo said the Jakarta administration needed to involve citizens more in realizing the city master plan.

“People in Jakarta are very inventive. If the city make regulations, they will get around [them]. They are really active and always try to make the best of everything. This is a potential,” he said.

A recent study by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development criticized Jakarta’s inconsistency in enforcing its own master plans, leaving the city with a self-organizing propensity rather than a
planned one.