AF: To what extent has the city freed itself from the nation-state?
AK: Introduced in the post-Suharto era, decentralisation delegated administrative authority in many sectors. There are local elections to choose the head of local government, including the governor of Jakarta who in turn appoints civil servants. Along with this is the emergence of a new style of local politics where politicians can gain (politico-economic) power with little support from the central government. For instance, Ahok, a Christian–Chinese from outside Java, became governor of Jakarta. Ahok, and Jokowi (President Joko Widodo) too, are both clearly products of this policy change. AF: Is the city fulfilling a mission that the nation-state has failed to do, such as good governance? Can you talk about this in relation to Ahok? AK: It is interesting to examine how Ahok legitimises his method of governing through use of the term ‘good governance’ – which includes transparency, accountability and (to a lesser extent) participation. All these leave us with an impression of the rise of ‘new’ civic and democratic values, but they are actually ‘popular’ values (not always the same as the ‘people’s’ values). Popular values are often translated into populist programs – (ironically) hierarchical – to ‘give’ free education, free health care, almost-free bus rides and low-cost rental apartments (to compensate eviction), as we are seeing in Ahok’s administration. Decentralisation has given rise to such urban popular performances of the city government. The city has replaced the state as the arena for representations of such popular values. AF: Populist politics (especially during electoral campaigns) generally starts with complaints about social divisions, injustice and unfairness, which take the form of unequal access to ‘urban resources’/ ‘collective consumption’ such as land, water, and public facilities/infrastructure. In what way have Ahok or Jokowi followed this path, as governors of Jakarta? AK: Issues of fairness, justice and equality were indeed part of political campaigns, but populist politicians also know very well the limits to addressing such issues. They understand that people will continue to complain about public services, as they are demanding more and more services. So overtime politicians would generally look for ‘popular problems’ that they think are cutting across different groups and would reach a broader audience. They would look for what they think are the urban majority and eventually their attention would shift from the urban poor to the ‘middle class’ who are not so much complaining about poverty, social divisions and injustices but more about issues related to the condition of urban space, the environment and sustainability (flooding, traffic jams, pollution and green space). In the end they create what they imagine to be their broad support base. Environmental sustainability has increasingly become the base of populist politics, displacing issues of livelihood that have been the main concern of the urban poor, and so it follows that the populist politician seeking election/re-election will incorporate environmental issues in their platform. AF: What other new practices legitimise the rule of a populist politician, and what implications might they have for the city? AK: With decentralisation, a city like Jakarta or Surabaya can behave as if it can exist on its own. But it still seeks a brand so as to emphasise its strength and distinctiveness, so that it looks unique, dynamic and new. This is why we see businessmen, corporate managers, celebrities and creative people like architects running for governor or mayor. We should not be surprised too, to see Ahok, for instance, using managerial language like ‘results’, ‘rewards’, ‘bonuses’ and ‘performances’ in his speeches on urban governance. The city leader can be rewarded not only by the people through re-election, but also by the state, which offers national budget funds based on performance. This has given rise to a politics of time in which the governor is constantly chased by time; he must act and show quick results, as speedy completion has become the sign of success. Getting works ‘done’ seems to sustain popularity; the key concern is how to gain influence within a very limited period of time. The implication of such politics for the city is seen in the kinds of urban programs/projects that get prioritised, and who or what projects are left behind. For instance, the focus on evicting kampung residents from the riverside as a quick ‘solution’ to urban flooding tends to ignore the more time-consuming investment in collaborating with authorities in the outer regions where headwaters are located. The long history of ‘criminalising’ kampung housing has also made it relatively easy for the authorities to evict kampung residents, even though the cost is high, both materially and socially. It is nevertheless seen as strategic because it can be done speedily to demonstrate the government’s tackling of various issues at once: flooding, land use, housing, green space and so on. AF: Why do you think Ahok has so much support? AK: I think the support that Ahok is gaining is not due to his eviction of kampung residents (people are actually very nervous about this), but due to the reforms he has implemented at City Hall, including disciplining his own staff. When Jokowi and Ahok took over the city administration in 2012, they knew that if they wished to implement their programs quickly – seen as central to the legitimation and sustenance of the platform on which they were elected – the greatest challenge would be ensuring the capacity of the bureaucracy to implement them. Prior to Ahok taking over as deputy governor, staff of the municipality were widely known to be less than energetic. They slowed things down. They knew that they would be in their positions longer than the governor, so why bother moving fast. I have been to City Hall more than a few times in the past (when Fauzi Bowo was governor and before). There were empty desks after lunch time, with no staff in attendance. In fact, the staff were not lazy; they were very active. They were doing their own business outside City Hall. They were ngojek (doing individual projects). I am not sure what those projects were but for sure they were not serving the public interest. People believe that Ahok’s leadership will cause a striking shift in the operation of City Hall. He was a graduate of Prasetya Mulya – an institution of continuing education for (aspiring) CEOs seeking more efficient methods for managing companies. However, I think Ahok mistakenly believes that he can run City Hall like a corporation. He believes he has the authority to direct his ‘company’, but the municipality is not a company. He believed he could fire staff, but often he has only had the authority to reshuffle staff positions. What he was able to do was recruit new staff to outperform the old ones. This way he could set up examples and rules. This method has slighted many, especially senior bureaucrats who have an expectation of respect for the years of service they have given. Unsurprisingly, they don’t like Ahok. They don’t like being pushed around. However, the urban majority who are tired of a lax civil service see in Ahok a reformist figure and they fear that no other leader would do what Ahok has done; shake the bureaucracy and ‘clean up’ the apparatus from within. They have supported Ahok for this reason, perhaps, but we should note that many supporters remain uncommitted, disapproving of Ahok’s take on kampung and his view that capitalism should be allowed to prosper in Jakarta as long as profits are shared with the city. Abidin Kusno is professor of Environmental Studies at York University, Toronto. His recent books include After the New Order: Space, Politics and Jakarta (Hawaii, University Press, 2013) and The Appearances of Memory: Mnemonic Practices of Architecture and Urban Form in Indonesia (Duke University Press, 2016). This interview was conducted in October 2016 *Van:* Inside Indonesia [mailto:noreply=insideindonesi [email protected]] *Namens *Inside Indonesia *Verzonden:* woensdag 7 december 2016 04:00 *Aan:* S K Que <[email protected]> *Onderwerp:* Politics of the Indonesian city - interview with Abidin Kusno This is your weekly Inside Indonesia bulletin: 7 December 2016 View this email in your browser <http://us2.campaign-archive2.com/?u=f26ed9d2cdb8b0895c4102bd9&id=3bc79eb9d3&e=e00b71ba48> <http://insideindonesia.us2.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=f26ed9d2cdb8b0895c4102bd9&id=7214ef5fe8&e=e00b71ba48> <http://insideindonesia.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f26ed9d2cdb8b0895c4102bd9&id=948115df36&e=e00b71ba48> <http://insideindonesia.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f26ed9d2cdb8b0895c4102bd9&id=f8f1c4c720&e=e00b71ba48> Politics of the Indonesian city <http://insideindonesia.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f26ed9d2cdb8b0895c4102bd9&id=90a271aff7&e=e00b71ba48> *Andy Fuller* *Interview with York University professor Abidin Kusno* Jakarta governor Basuki 'Ahok' Tjahaja Purnama. (Credit: Gerald Sipahutar) *Andy Fuller* interviews *Abidin Kusno*, a professor in the Faculty of Environmental Studies at York University, on his work exploring the pasts and futures of Indonesia’s cities and his opinion of Jakarta Governor Ahok’s approach to reforming and rebuilding Jakarta’s city administration and infrastructure. *Read more* <http://insideindonesia.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f26ed9d2cdb8b0895c4102bd9&id=016dcedb08&e=e00b71ba48> Inside Indonesia 126: Oct - Dec 2016
