Hetty Evelyne beamed when Governor Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo handed out the first serving of nasi tumpeng to her '€” honoring the wife of former governor Henk Ngantung as a respected citizen of Jakarta '€” during the city'€™s 486th anniversary on Saturday.

'€œI am thankful for the recognition after all these years. The city still remembers that it once had a governor named Henk Ngantung,'€ she told The Jakarta Post recently.

Henk served as deputy governor under Sumarno (1960-1964) before he replaced his superior, who was appointed as home affairs minister. The first civilian governor, who only served the city for one year in 1964, left a number of legacies in the city.

Henk Ngantung. Ensiklopedi Jakarta Henk, who was also a fine artist, designed some of the city'€™s landmarks, including the Welcome Statue at the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle, the West Irian Liberation Statue in Lapangan Banteng, Central Jakarta, and the Jakarta
administration logo as well as the logo of the Army'€™s Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad).

Unfortunately, when founding president Sukarno'€™s term ended in 1967, Henk was accused of being a communist sympathizer. His family lived a quiet life and only received a monthly pension of Rp 830,000 (US$83) in 1980s.

Hetty said she was ecstatic with the news that their city would renovate her house on a narrow street called Gang Jambu off Jl. Dewi Sartika. Deputy Governor Basuki '€œAhok'€ Tjahaja Purnama promised to pay her an additional monthly pension out of his own pocket.

Sumarno was reappointed as governor for one year before being replaced by Ali Sadikin (1966-1977). Many Jakartans remember the leadership of Bang Ali fondly.

The retired three-star marine general made the controversial move to boost the city'€™s income by legalizing gambling.

During his time, the city ran massive infrastructure projects such as roads, Taman Ismail Marzuki cultural center in Cikini, Central Jakarta, school buildings, community health units (puskesmas), Gelanggang Remaja (youth arena) and improving slum areas.

'€œAli Sadikin made huge changes that overshadowed his successors,'€ spatial planning expert Yayat Supriatna told the Post, adding that the former governor was populist, democratic and close to the residents.

From 1977 to 1997, Jakarta was led by Tjokropranolo, Soeprapto, Wiyogo Atmodarminto and Soerjadi Soedirdja.

Yayat said former governor Soerjadi was known for the low-cost apartments initiative in the center of Jakarta.

'€œUnfortunately, his successors did not continue this initiative. Every leader wanted to have his own monumental legacy, so every new leader would start new policies,'€ he said.

Sutiyoso was governor during the transition period from the New Order of Soeharto to the reformation. The former governor, who led the city for 10 years, is remembered for his three-in-one traffic policy, the erection of a fence around the National Monument and the Transjakarta project.

However, Yayat criticized the many violations of the spatial planning bylaw under Sutiyoso'€™s administration.

In 2007, the city welcomed its first elected governor, Fauzi Bowo '€” the first ever Betawi descendant to lead Jakarta.

Yayat said the former governor, who ended his term in 2012, did not give many legacies to remember besides the addition of more Transjakarta corridors, connecting the East Flood Canal to the sea and the construction of the Antasari and Casablanca non-toll roads in South Jakarta.

'€œIt was a very bureaucratic period; stiff and full of plans,'€ he said, adding that the former governor also rejected to continuation of the monorail project.

Today, Jakartans have high expectations of Jokowi and Ahok; wanting the pairing to address the city'€™s notorious problems, including floods and traffic jams. The duo planned to alleviate slums and make the city welcoming to
newcomers.

Sutiyoso lauded the progress of the capital'€™s public transportation programs, saying he was happy to see Jokowi continuing this program.

'€œI know it is far from finished but it'€™s a step in the right direction. It takes more than one governor to solve the capital'€™s problems,'€ he said.