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Fate of Islet G is Jokowi's to decide, Ahok insists
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Fishermen of Muara Angke hold a mock padlock in a theatrical rally at a man-made islet known as Islet G in North Jakarta in April. (The Jakarta Post/Seto Wardhana)
J
akarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama said on Thursday that President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo would decide whether to stop or continue the reclamation of Islet G in Jakarta Bay following the sacking of Rizal Ramli as coordinating maritime affairs minister in this week's Cabinet reshuffle.
The government never officially ordered the cessation of work on Islet G, the governor said, adding that Rizal had been speaking in a personal capacity when he told the media that members of a government committee tasked with evaluating the Jakarta Bay reclamation had agreed to scrap the construction of Islet G.
The committee, Ahok claimed, never issued such a recommendation.
He said he believed the project's fate was in the President’s hands. Jokowi—who led Jakarta with Ahok as his deputy before his election as president in 2014—is expected to hold a meeting involving related ministers and representatives of the Jakarta administration to discuss the issue, he added.
Rizal claimed in June that a government committee consisting of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti, then transportation minister Ignasius Jonan and Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya had, citing environmental concerns, agreed to halt the reclamation of Islet G, which project was awarded to a subsidiary of developer PT Agung Podomoro Land.
Rizal’s statement angered Ahok and led to a bitter war of words between the two in the media. In a surprise turn of event, Rizal was sacked by Jokowi in Wednesday’s Cabinet shake-up. Rizal’s post has been filled by Jokowi’s ally, Luhut Pandjaitan, who was previously coordinating political, legal and security affairs minister. (ary)
