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akarta governor hopeful Alex Noerdin has said that leading Jakarta is easier than other regions due to the lack of autonomous regencies that could undermine the implementation of gubernatorial policies.

Alex, currently serving as the governor of South Sumatra, said on Tuesday that Jakarta had a shorter chain of bureaucracy, meaning that the administration could easily carry out its programs.

“Jakarta is different than other regions that are regulated under the Regional Autonomy Law,” he said.

The law, he said, had made it difficult for governors in the regions to execute their policies as they needed to secure support from regents and regional councils in any given regency. “This process is not easy,” said Alex, who is paired with retired general Nono Sampono in the candidacy race. “This complexity does not exist in Jakarta.”

According to the law, Jakarta is a special region with five municipalities and one regency that is directly led by the governor, who has the right to elect the mayors.

“There are no city councils at the municipality level, meaning that the governor does not have to convince as many people when implementing a policy,” he said.

Alex also said that Jakarta had the special advantage of being the capital of Indonesia. “Everyone cares a lot when something happens in Jakarta, including the President, ministers and other important people in the country.”

Despite the advantages, Alex acknowledged that Jakarta faced many challenges. The city’s traffic jams and annual floods were two of the main problems in Jakarta. Alex said with confidence that he could overcome these problems within three years.

He said that he also planned to bring the “megapolitan” (Greater Jakarta) concept, first introduced by former Jakarta governor Sutiyoso, on board again as he believed the problems of Jakarta could be solved through better coordination with satellite cities, including Bekasi, Depok, Tangerang, Bogor, Puncak and Cianjur.

Alex, who won three regional elections prior to his candidacy in Jakarta, said that people in Jakarta deserved a leader with a clear time line. “If we set a deadline for a program, we would work very hard to achieve it,” he said.

The Golkar Party politician served as regent of Musi Banyuasin from 2001 to 2008. Alex should have led the regency until 2008 but left when he won the South Sumatra gubernatorial election.