Jakarta governor Pramono's first 100 days a mixed bag
Jakarta Governor Pramono Anung (right) and his deputy, Rano Karno (centre), talking with a prospective tenant of low-cost rental apartments (rusunawa) in Jagakarsa in South Jakarta on May 8, 2025. - Antara
JAKARTA: While a recent survey reveals public satisfaction with many of Jakarta Governor Pramono Anung's programmes, activist groups have pointed out several flaws in his policies during his first 100 days in office.
The public opinion poll from Indikator Politik Indonesia showed that Pramono's approval rating stood at 60 per cent since taking office in mid-February.
Compared with the approval ratings of his counterparts across five other provinces in Java, Indikator placed Pramono in the second-lowest position.
The survey, released on May 28, also indicated that while around 70 per cent of respondents were satisfied with six of Pramono's surveyed programmes, such as extending the operational hours of public libraries and holding job fairs, better policy communication is needed for Pramono's office to inform more residents.
The pollster's founder Burhanuddin Muhtadi said that only one third of residents were aware of Pramono's programmes, despite Jakartans' high exposure to media.
Since assuming office, the former cabinet secretary has been making efforts to fulfil his campaign promises, either introducing new initiatives like extending operational hours of public spaces or resuming past policies such as the Ciliwung River normalization and relocation of evicted Kampung Bayam residents.
At City Hall on Monday, four Jakarta-based civil groups gathered to release the results of their own assessment of certain programmes of the new Jakarta administration, such as workforce policy and some past initiatives that the city reenacted, such as the river normalisation and the Kampung Bayam relocation programme.
The groups were Greenpeace Indonesia, the Jakarta Urban Poor Network (JRMK), Urban Poor Consortium (UPC) and Jakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH Jakarta).
The results of their assessment showed that the Pramono administration gained an average score of 20 for all of the assessed policies, way below the threshold set by the civil groups, which stands at 75.
The groups particularly criticized how Pramono reenacted the river normalization project and the relocation of displaced Kampung Bayam residents without transparency and without listening to the aspirations of the affected populations, while prioritising short-term solutions that could further harm the vulnerable groups.
Pramono has set a target of completing the Ciliwung River normalization by 2026, a long-stalled project that aims to help mitigate flooding in Greater Jakarta.
In the case of Kampung Bayam, Pramono moved in March several of its evicted residents to a low-cost vertical housing complex (rusun) Kampung Susun Bayam, located near the Jakarta International Stadium (JIS) in Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta.
The residents had been left hanging for years after their former houses were demolished to pave the way for the construction of the sports complex, under the leadership of former governor Anies Baswedan.
The activist groups, however, claimed that the monthly rents in the new housing complex left several residents hesitant about moving as they may be too high.
'The new city administration is trapped in instant solutions, exacerbating the city's perennial problems,' said Greenpeace Indonesia campaigner Jeanny Sirait, referring to problems surrounding floods and land tenure. Chico Hakim, special staffer to the governor, told The Jakarta Post that the administration had received the assessment results from the civil groups, saying that it would look into every criticism and suggestion. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
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