Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama and the Jakarta City Council (DPRD) rarely get along, so it was really something that DPRD Chief Prasetio Edi Marsudi praised Ahok yesterday.
But even then, Prasetio’s words seemed like a backhanded compliment.
“With Ahok, it’s just his [loud] mouth that I can’t stand. When we met the president I brought up the issue about his mouth. But now he’s changed. We must be fair, Jakarta has changed under him (Ahok),” Prasetio said yesterday, as quoted by Kompas.
Prasetio was particularly impressed when Ahok reprimanded his subordinate Nandar Sunandar, head of Jakarta’s Parks and Cemeteries Agency, for failing to keep a park clean.
Prasetio also supports Ahok’s wish to get rid of agency heads (SKPD) in the provincial government and leave the daily tasks of running the city to elected officials.
“I agree with Ahok, there’s no need for the SKPD. Subdistrict, district heads and mayors should function as public servants because they’ve been handling [the city] all this time, not the SKPD,” he said.
