Jokowi vows to make Jakarta child-friendly

JAKARTA. Dozens of children splashing in puddles at a playground in Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta, on Tuesday, got a glimpse of Governor Joko “Jokowi” Widodo as he lead the launch of the “Jakarta child-friendly city” program.

The playground was muddy from a heavy downpour the night before and crowded as hundreds of students, local residents and other stakeholders gathered at the event, but everyone seemed to be having fun despite the inconvenience.

Participants were treated to street food such as bakso (meatball soup) and batagor (fried meatball and tofu).

The children immediately lit up when Jokowi said he was giving away free bicycles to those who were able to answer his questions.

To test the children’s nationalistic spirit, the governor asked a 10-year-old boy to sing national song “Bagimu Neg’ri” (To My Country), before giving away a bicycle.

“I don’t want to. I want to do the ‘Bang Jali’ dance instead,” the boy said, referring to a popular dangdut song, to the audience’s laughter.

Jokowi protested against the boy’s response by saying: “You can do it once you grow up. But now you should sing the song as I instructed!”

The boy sang the song while jumbling the lyrics.

Even though Jokowi granted the boy a bicycle, he could not mask his disappointment, putting blame on the quality of TV shows in the country.

“The broadcasting commission controls the content of broadcasts in Indonesia. I take care of other issues,” he said.

The governor said he wanted to make Jakarta a child-friendly city, saying that “a city that is friendly to children must be friendly to other people too.”

He acknowledged, however, that the dream was not without its challenges.

“It will be challenging but we have to start anyway. It might take at least five years to make Jakarta a child-friendly city,” he said.

To support the program, he added, the city administration would add public spaces, create forums for children and host events to stimulate creativity.

Assistant to the city secretary for people’s welfare, Bambang Sugiono, pointed out that the city had established children forums at the subdistrict level since 2010.

“The forums were established to accommodate children’s aspirations,” he said, adding that the forums were also expected to promote activities and interaction.

Indonesian Commission on Child Protection (KPAI) commissioner Seto Mulyadi said Jakarta did not have what it takes to become a child-friendly city yet.

“A child-friendly city is a city where children can live, grow, develop, play, study and be safe,” he said.

He said violence against children had remained an issue in the city.

“The city also lacks resident participation. Many adults smoke in front of children, for instance,” he said.

Seto, however, was upbeat that the city would be able to overcome the challenges as the governor had introduced the Jakarta Health Card (KJS) program and the Jakarta Smart Card (KJP) education allowance program. (Sita W Dewi)