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strong>May 18, p9

Governor Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo says he does not want to let horrendous traffic and a host of other urban woes blot out the good things about living in the capital.

While Jokowi might have accepted such talk about Jakarta when he was mayor of the sleepy city of Surakarta, Central Java, the onslaught of bad publicity about Jakarta has apparently ticked him off since he became governor.

At a public lecture at Tarumanagara University in West Jakarta, on Thursday, the governor said that he wanted to replace images of Jakarta as a flooded and gridlocked metropolis with those of a modern city with
a strong character.

'We have to build the right brand for Jakarta that makes this city distinctive. To date, foreign people still hold a perception that Jakarta is congested and flooded,' Jokowi said.

Your comments:

All that have been achieved by Jokowi is great compared to the previous governor as his plan for Jakarta is to make it the best city while the main focus is a Jakarta free of flooding and traffic problems.

To achieve his goal quickly Jokowi must implement new rules in traffic policy by increasing parking costs, no free parking, heavy punishment for offenders, no further mall development in the city as it lead to congestion, etc.

Kang Prabu

I quote: 'Jokowi may not really know Jakarta yet.' Exactly, the point is, no one knows Jakarta yet.

Maybe he doesn't know the city. But at least he knows how this city is going to be according to his plan, and what it is intended to be.

He's not merely planning on building more malls and costly apartments. He intends to build transportation systems, low-cost apartments, sport stadiums, reservoirs, and other urgent projects.

The point is, he builds what people need. He tries to mitigate problems, instead of adding more misery to this already miserable capital city.

Speaking of legacy, it is up to the people to follow his legacy and to maintain whatever good he achieves.

Rini