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Jakarta Post

District head'€™s personal approach charms residents

Free lunch: Mampang Prapatan district head Fidiyah Rokhim hands out boxes of rice to residents in Mampang, South Jakarta, after accompanying them by bus to the Komaruddin low-cost apartments in East Jakarta

Dewanti A. Wardhani (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Fri, August 22, 2014

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District head'€™s personal approach charms residents Free lunch: Mampang Prapatan district head Fidiyah Rokhim hands out boxes of rice to residents in Mampang, South Jakarta, after accompanying them by bus to the Komaruddin low-cost apartments in East Jakarta. (Mampang Prapatan District head office ) (Mampang Prapatan District head office )

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span class="inline inline-center">Free lunch: Mampang Prapatan district head Fidiyah Rokhim hands out boxes of rice to residents in Mampang, South Jakarta, after accompanying them by bus to the Komaruddin low-cost apartments in East Jakarta. (Mampang Prapatan District head office )

In the eyes of many of his residents, Mampang Prapatan district head Fidiyah Rokhim is unlike other public officials.

The demolition of illegal buildings along the Mampang River in South Jakarta has been conducted this week without major resistance from the squatters, unlike the evictions conducted along railway tracks in Tanah Abang in Central Jakarta.

Part of this is due to the friendly and personal approach Rokhim has taken with the squatters. One squatter, Sumiati, expressed her satisfaction with the district head, describing him as the '€œnicest public official'€.

'€œAll public officials should look up to Pak Rokhim. I think he is the nicest public official in Jakarta, or maybe in Indonesia,'€ Sumiati said after visiting the Komaruddin low-cost apartments on Thursday.

The demolition of illegal buildings along Mampang River was conducted to '€œnormalize'€ the area and prevent future flooding.

Over 370 families spread across three subdistricts '€” Pela Mampang, Tegal Parang and Mampang Prapatan '€” will be relocated.

Mampang Prapatan district, in cooperation with the East Jakarta municipal administration, has prepared homes for the evicted families at Komaruddin in East Jakarta.

Sumiati said that prior to the eviction, Rokhim had taken her and her neighbors on a bus ride around the city and even treated them to a meal of bakso (meatballs).

'€œWe got to eat bakso for free. I don'€™t think I'€™ve ever heard of any other district heads treating their residents to any meals,'€ she said.

Sumiati said that Rokhim was present and very hands-on during the eviction, which started on Monday. '€œThe eviction was not forceful. No one got hurt. On television, we usually see people crying and yelling at police or soldiers for destroying their homes, but that didn'€™t happen here,'€ she said.

Another squatter, Firdaus, said that Rokhim also brought them to the Komaruddin apartments to see where they would be living after the relocation. '€œThe apartment was very decent, definitely much better living conditions than a house on the riverbank,'€ Firdaus said.

Like Sumiati, Firdaus was also impressed by Rokhim.

'€œPak Rokhim is very kind. He respects us, so in turn, we also respect his efforts,'€ he said.

Meanwhile, Rokhim said that dialogue and a personal approach were part of his working method.

'€œA personal approach is needed, especially in completing such a difficult task like evicting people from their homes,'€ Rokhim told The Jakarta Post at his official residence in South Jakarta on Thursday.

Rokhim said that the district administration had conducted dialogue and meetings with the residents from last Thursday until Sunday. '€œI told them that they were living on the riverbanks illegally and that the city administration would evict them on Monday. Of course, things heated up at first. They were angry, I understood,'€ he said.

He then told the squatters that the city administration would relocate them to low-cost apartments.

'€œI told them I would bring them there and show them how much better the apartments were compared to their homes on the riverbank,'€ Rokhim said.

He said that some residents complained the Komaruddin apartments were too far from their children'€™s schools. '€œI told them that their children would be moved to a school near the apartments. I will personally make sure that they will get places at local schools,'€ he said.

Rokhim said that after the dialogue, he tried a personal approach by taking them on a bus ride around the city and treating them to an afternoon meal.

'€œI wanted them to know that I meant no harm and that I respected them. Some people treat squatters like criminals. They aren'€™t, they are just in the wrong place at the wrong time.'€

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