The Hopes and Feelings of the President and the People

Kompas/Sonya Hellen Sinombor

President Joko Widodo looks from close range at a number of Garut sheep and goats, which are the participants in the “Indonesia Independence Cup Garut Sheep-Goat Contest” at Kebun Raya Bogor, West Java, Saturday (27/8/2016). The President has encouraged farmers in the country to develop sheep and goats as a source of alternative protein other than beef, to fulfill people’s demand for meat.

On the feelings and hopes of the city of Bogor, the 535^th anniversary of which falls on June 3, President Joko Widodo is the right person to ask. Since February 2015, the President and his family have lived at the Dyah Bayurini Pavilion at the Bogor Botanical Gardens.

It’s not just that. Almost every morning, the President goes out through the side gate of the Bogor Palace, crossing a path inside the garden, to the State Palace in Jakarta. The President often spends his holiday engaging in physical activities at Bogor Botanical Gardens.

The botanical garden still today remains an icon of Bogor. Its location in the city center connects people’s activities.

Inside the botanical garden are various flora and fauna that make the air around the Dyah Bayurini Pavilion fresher in the morning and colder at night, with more shade provided in the hours in between.

“I live in a small house, the pavilion of which is located close to the botanical garden. It is fresh there in the morning. It’s quiet and cold at night. In order to make a crucial decision, such an environment is needed,” said President Jokowi during a chat at Merdeka Palace in Jakarta on Friday (2/6). During his stays at Bogor Palace, he has released a thousand birds, frogs, squirrels and fish at the botanical garden.

Recently, the President and First Lady Iriana donated a black orchid and Singaporean orchid named Iriana Jokowi. The orchid was planted at the Orchid Garden inside the botanical garden.

The former Jakarta governor sees the botanical garden as not only a good place for research, but also a cheap place to spend holidays in Bogor. “If both the research center and [site] of entertainment for the people can coexist together, it would be great,” the President said.

The President also dreams of making the botanical garden the best in the world, functioning as a conservation and tropical plant research center as well as an affordable public entertainment area. The President said the dream of making the botanical garden the best in the world was not impossible. The dream could come true if it was developed and managed well.

The garden should be preserved naturally. Various plants, including rare trees in the garden, should be conserved. “If possible, there should be no more buildings because it would reduce its beauty and nature,” Jokowi said.

The President said it would be better if the variety of plants in the garden was increased. To improve the garden’s beauty, the management needs to increase the variety of floral plants.

Around the botanical garden is wide pavement of 2 to 6 meters. Not only is it comfortable, but it has a design and ornaments that are not monotonous.

Pinning hope

Similar hope for a better Bogor was also conveyed by Roy Yatule, 21, on Friday (2/6). A student hailing from Central Sulawesi, he opted to become a Bogor resident, getting a KTP for the city, as he felt comfortable living there. He is also confident he will have a bright career in the “city of rain.”

“The most visible development of the city of Bogor is the growing number of well-managed parks. My friend and I are able to continue our hobbies of jogging. In the past, it was hard to just walk in the city,” he said.

Mulyadi, 42, was relocated from Cilacap, Central Java, and lived in Parung, Bogor regency. On Friday, he was with his wife Laura, 35, and their daughter Lara, 2, at Sempur Park, one of 32 public parks in Bogor. “If I am off from work, we go here because there are many big trees in Bogor. It’s cool. Also, the parks are beautiful and the snacks are cheaper compared to those in Jakarta,” he said.

There is also a variety of culinary options in Bogor with the increase in new restaurants in several areas such as Bangbarung Bantarjati and Binamarga Baranangsiang.

Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association (PHRI) Bogor chairman Yuno A. Lahay said that based on taxpayers data, there were around 600 restaurants last year. “The revenue from restaurants reached Rp 94 billion and from hotels it was Rp 71 billion. So in total it was Rp 165 billion, a big amount for Bogor,” he said.

Association of Indonesian Hotel Grand Managers chairman Bustamar Koto said prospects for hotel businesses in Bogor were promising and would be higher if the regional administration was consistent on its moratorium of hotel development in the city center.

Public transportation

Aside from the development and public hopes, there is still work to do. Crowded traffic is one issue, such as on Jl. Pajajaran, Jl. Otto Iskandardinata and Jl. Djuanda. Those roads encircle the botanical garden.

“There are too many angkot [public minivan]. If the number of angkot can be reduced, the city of Bogor will be much more comfortable,” Mulyadi said.

The Bogor administration has already implemented policies on public transportation management as stipulated in the Bogor Transportation or B-Top.

The city administration has started redesigning angkot routes. All public transportation must be managed under a company, not individual.

Nevertheless, the establishment of the legal entity does not automatically mean allocating subsidies for the procurement and operation of buses.

“We are awaiting the City Legislative Council to give approval for the subsidy of bus procurement or operation. The subsidy should not be for the long term. Eight years is enough. Then, we can be autonomous,” said Dewi, a public transportation businessperson.

The local administration’s plan to operate seven main corridors of Trans-Pakuan buses was also delayed because of bankruptcy of the Regional Transportation Service Company (PDJT). The PDJT was projected to be the operator of the Trans-Pakuan buses. However, the company needs to be overhauled by the Bogor Transportation Office.

The 535^th anniversary of Bogor should be perceived as the awakening of Bogor city and Bogor regency, which among other goals aims to provide quality public transportation to the people.