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Anies unimpressed as City Council sets up special committee on flood mitigation
The city councilors claimed the formation of the special committee was not intended as a rebuke to Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan regarding his handling of the recent floods but rather was aimed at helping the governor find better solutions.
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Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan (left) gives a public statement. (kompas.com/Nibras Nada Nailufar)
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lthough opinions were divided at first, Jakarta’s councilors have finally come to an agreement on forming a special committee for flood mitigation amid public criticism over the weak measures taken to prevent the recent floods in the capital.
City Council speaker Prasetio Edi Marsudi approved the formation of the committee during a meeting on Feb. 24. The committee will start work after a confirmation hearing for Jakarta’s new deputy governor on March 23.
The city councilors claimed the formation of the special committee was not intended as a rebuke to Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan regarding his handling of the recent floods but rather was aimed at helping the governor find better solutions.
Anies, meanwhile, appeared unimpressed with the council’s decision, claiming his administration had organized mitigation programs and was still focusing on the feasibility of running some of them under the current conditions.
“What’s important in this phase is that we remain alert as the rainy season continues,” Anies told reporters recently.
The committee consists of 25 members from all nine party factions in the council, with the majority coming from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), with six members, followed the Gerindra Party with five.
The Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) faction, which initially rejected the plan because it believed the formation of the special committee was politically motivated, eventually agreed and will have four members on the committee.
