3 Anies Baswedan's 'Funny' Policies Before Bicycle Monument

Governor of DKI Jakarta, Anies Baswedan. (Photo: Public Relations of DKI Jakarta Provincial Government)

JAKARTA - The Provincial Government of DKI Jakarta plans to build a monument or inscription themed on the use of bicycles on Jenderal Sudirman Street. The development that sucked the budget up to IDR800 million was criticized.

One of them came from Member of Commission B of DPRD DKI Gilbert Simanjuntak. He claimed to be astonished at the construction of inscriptions or bicycle monuments in Sudirman. In fact, inscriptions are built in honor of a person or a legendary event.

"What's legendary about bicycles? I see the provincial government does not understand that there is a scale of priority in spending and policy. It would damage a city if it was led in these ways, because of the interests of a group, then made a monument on the main road", Gilbert said.

As the number one person in DKI Jakarta, some policies of Anies Baswedan also invite controversy. One of them is about colorful tile paint in people's houses around the Tapal Kuda flyover, Lenteng Agung.

Observer and social media activist Denny Siregar called Anies the Governor funny following his controversial policies. "It's not Anies Baswedan if it's not strange his policies. Some things make us laugh, not because the person is funny, but because the policy is not unreasonable", Denny said reported by VOI from CokroTV's YouTube account, Thursday, January 21.

So what are Anies Baswedan's controversial policies?

1. Getah Getih Bamboo

The installation of Getah Getih Bamboo swallowed a budget of around IDR500 million and was composed of 1,500 bamboos. This installation was made to welcome the Independence Day of Indonesia and the Asian Games 2018.

Bamboo basic materials obtained from Garut, Tasikmalaya, and Sumedang. Not yet a year of installation stand, on Wednesday night July 17, 2019, then, Getah Getih finally dismantled. The reason for the demolition is because the condition is starting to be fragile.

2.  Closing of Item River

The DKI government used a 700-meter long black net to cover Item River which is behind Wisma Atlet Kemayoran in Central Jakarta. The goal is to reduce the bad smell that could disturb the delegates of the 2018 Asian Games participants.

"One way is to reduce the evaporation process of the river, evaporation is to be given a cover cloth so that there is no evaporation process", said Anies reported by Antara, July 7, 2018. The budget in the closing of Item River amounted to IDR580 million.

3.Colorful Tile Paint 

The colorful tile paint project was carried out in the homes of residents around the Tapal Kuda flyover, Lenteng Agung. The painting of the roof of the people's house was carried out on December 2, 2020, and targeted up to 218 houses.