About 70,000 officials work under the governor, who leads at least 10 million people in a city with limited land. The autonomous government has one level, only the provincial level. Last, but by no means the least, Jakarta is the center of the state government and is at the forefront of Indonesia.
Role of governor
The role of Jakarta Governor is also quite different. Being governor of the country’s capital comprises at least four key roles as stipulated in Law No. 23/2014 on Regional Administration and Law No. 29/2007 on Jakarta as the capital city of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia.
Firstly, the Jakarta Governor is the head of an autonomous province. He is the leader who addresses affairs that fall under purview of the Jakarta government. Damaged roads, poor healthcare, poor education, dirty city parks and rivers, cracked pavements, disorganized low-cost apartments, traffic congestion, floods, unstable internet connections, an unsustained marine conservation area of 12 miles (19 kilometers), bureaucratic public services and complicated permits, as well as many other issues, are the governor’s responsibility.
This role is the most difficult. Governor Anies cannot work alone. He must be active in mobilizing the people, guiding the bureaucracy, partnering with the regional legislative council (DPRD) and coordinating with private parties.
Secondly, the Jakarta Governor also leads in implementing central government matters that are handed down by the President. He must handle social conflicts, facilitate democracy and foster harmony between ethnicities, religious followers, race and groups in the multicultural capital.
Furthermore, in accordance with the tampung-tantra doctrine, the governor must also attend to governmental affairs beyond Jakarta that are not carried out by a vertical institution. Therefore, Governor Anies is the primus interpares, or the “tribal leader” of all ethnic groups in the capital. He must be diligent in meeting the people, listening to their aspirations and ensuring that none of their needs are left unattended.
Thirdly, the Jakarta Governor represents the central government in implementing coordination, development and supervision in the capital. However, because its autonomy exists only on a single bureaucratic level, the governor does not need to supervise and manage the five administrative mayors and one regent that are “subordinate” to him.
If their performance is poor, they can be dismissed immediately. However, he needs to continue to carry out its task of coordinating with the vertical institutions in Jakarta, such as the police, the regional military command, the prosecutor’s office, the Development Finance Controller (BPKP) representative, the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) and other central institutions. There is already a forum for this, called the Regional Leaders Coordination Forum (Forkopimda).
Therefore, the role of the Jakarta Governor as an extension of the central government can be said to be the easiest role. Anies’ communication expertise will surely make this particular role easy for him to fill. Even more, so given that he has had two years’ experience of being in the central government as Culture and Education Minister.
Fourthly, as the country’s capital and the city in which the offices of the President and his Cabinet are located, where foreign missions are located and which acts as a barometer for our 542 autonomous regions, the Jakarta Governor has the responsibility of making the province safe, secure, orderly, innovative, prosperous and modern. Or as Anies-Sandi’s slogan goes: “Progressive city, happier people”.
Therefore, in realizing this vision, it is not enough for the Jakarta Governor to inspire public participation and private partnership, but he also needs to build a harmonious relationship with the President and his staff.
Anies-Sandi needs strong government support through the placement of national strategic programs in Jakarta, a transfer of authority and greater funding to accelerate the capital’s development. The governor also needs integrated cooperation with other provinces, at the very least with the neighboring provinces of Banten and West Java, to overcome the problems of floods, traffic congestion, chaotic city planning and population control.
Anies’s experience as a former minister under President Joko Widodo, his closeness with Vice President Jusuf Kalla and his friendship with Cabinet ministers and high-ranking bureaucratic officials will, of course, help. Anies’s network can help him in leading the capital.
However, going forward, accelerating the capital’s development, which lags far behind other capital cities in the world such as Tokyo, Beijing, Putrajaya and Canberra, cannot solely rely on the governor’s leadership capacity and without improving the capital city’s regional administration, which has special territory status.
Strengthening governor authority
Therefore, revising Law No. 29/2007 on Jakarta as the Indonesian capital, which is 10 years old and is no longer able to resolve the problems of the city, is needed. The most important thing is that the government must be willing to give more authority to the Jakarta administration so that it will have the added freedom to be creative and innovative, as was enjoyed by governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama (Ahok).
Furthermore, to strengthen the Jakarta Governor’s authority in order to govern the capital in an integrated manner, the central government may need to consider expanding the city limits into the cities and regencies of West Java and Banten that significantly affect Jakarta.
Thank you, governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama and governor Djarot Saiful Hidayat. Good luck, Governor Anies. May the people of Jakarta be prosperous.
DJOHERMANSYAH DJOHAN
Director General for Regional Autonomy at the Home Ministry 2010-2014; acting Riau Governor 2013-2014
