LBH Says 3 Paslon Pilgub Can't Control Jakarta's Problems, Pramono: The More Criticized, The Better

JAKARTA - Candidate for Governor of Jakarta number 3, Pramono Anung responded to criticism from the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH) which said that all pairs of candidates had not yet mastered Jakarta's problems.

Pramono welcomed the criticism. It is fitting, according to Pramono, that regional head candidates receive criticism from the public.

"It's okay. The governor candidate, the deputy governor, must be criticized every day, including myself. So, the more criticism the better," Pramono said when met in West Pademangan, North Jakarta, Tuesday, October 8.

The former Cabinet Secretary actually expects more criticism from other community groups. This is necessary to open up a wide space to the public to channel their aspirations to their potential leaders.

"Who is the leader who can indeed answer the questions of these institutions concretely and can be implemented in the field," Pramono explained.

Through his written statement, LBH Jakarta assessed that the candidate pairs did not offer concrete solutions based on Jakarta's problems in the inaugural debate with the theme "Strengthening Human Resources and Transformation of Jakarta into a Global City".

"The vision and mission of the entire candidate pair is just a jargonistic and oriented towards increasing electability," said LBH Jakarta.

The vision and mission of candidate pair number 1, Ridwan Kamil-Suswono, who wants to build Betawi culture, continued LBH Jakarta, will not have a significant impact if it is not accompanied by efforts to maintain and guarantee the living space of Jakarta residents.

LBH Jakarta also criticized the vision and mission offered by candidate pair number 2, Dharma Pongrekun-Kun Wardana regarding flood management through rainwater and river management to maximize the function of reservoirs, parks, and urban forests. This is considered an empty solution.

Then, LBH Jakarta criticized that the Benyamin Sueb Awards program offered by candidate pair number 3, Pramono Anung-Rano Karno was not placed according to its meaning and context.

"Instead of just using his name for an award, Benjamin Sueb should have used the spirit of fighting the inequality carried by Benjamin Sueb as the basis for policy making," explained LBH Jakarta. Therefore, the use of Benjamin Sueb's name without being accompanied by concrete policies and on target to erode inequality in Jakarta is only a jargonistic and has the potential to dwarf the figure's big name.

LBH also assesses that all candidate pairs do not have a comprehensive understanding of gender justice. The three candidates are also considered to only build normative narratives and do not elaborate further on the complexity of problems that have occurred in Jakarta proportionally from social and cultural perspectives.

"We draw the conclusion that all pairs of candidates do not understand the empirical problems in Jakarta and fail to present constructive debates as a means of public education to find solutions to solving Jakarta's problems," he concluded.