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Business group contributes buses, aid to city
Making the city a better place: Deputy Governor Basuki âAhokâ Tjahaja Purnama (right) receives chairman of the Mayapada business group, Dato Sri Dr
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span class="inline inline-left">Making the city a better place: Deputy Governor Basuki 'Ahok' Tjahaja Purnama (right) receives chairman of the Mayapada business group, Dato Sri Dr. Tahir (left), at his City Hall office on Friday. The holding group donated 10 buses and Rp 6 billion (US$492,000) to the city administration.--JP/Jerry AdigunaThe Mayapada business group contributed 10 Transjakarta buses and Rp 6 billion (US$492,000) in financial aid for flood victims to the city administration at the weekend. The buses and aid were symbolically handed over to Governor Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo at the City Hall on Friday.
'We are keen to help Pak Jokowi because he is known as a humble, honest and pro-people leader,' Mayapada group chairman Dato Sri Dr. Tahir told reporters. He acknowledged that the number of buses given to the city was not significant. 'It can still help [the city] to expand its public transportation. If one [business] group can contribute 10 buses, 100 groups means many more buses,' he said. He pointed out that the buses' specifications met the city administration's standards as the group had coordinated with the Jakarta Transportation Agency beforehand. The Jakarta administration and the company will cooperate in running the 10 buses, while according to Jokowi, the profits will go to the city administration. Deputy Governor Basuki 'Ahok' Tjahaja Purnama said that he expected businesspeople would contribute double-decker tourist buses instead of Transjakarta buses in the future. According to Ahok, Mayapada Group has agreed to finance the buses' maintenance costs, while the city will pay for the operational costs.
The Rp 6 billion cash grant was given to the city administration to help flood victims. Tahir said that flood victims, particularly the children, needed special treatment as they might be suffering from trauma.
'This issue will not be resolved if the government, a certain individual or a certain group works separately. All businesspeople should work together,' he said. He added that he decided to deliver the aid directly to the governor to avoid bureaucratic issues in the field.
'We didn't deliver the aid to the posts because the administration knows better about the needs on the ground. The administration knows better about where to distribute it,' he said.
Jokowi welcomed the aid, saying that 'businesspeople also want to contribute to their own city. It's good as long as it helps the people.'
Jokowi said that many other businesses had expressed their intention of contributing to the capital's development.
'I am not the one who will benefit from this, it will benefit the public,' he said.
