JAKARTA – While there are no quick fixes to Jakarta’s chronic traffic gridlock,
at least the city is trying to improve the Internet speeds along its
overburdened road ways.
Jakartans – who spend more time on Twitter and
Facebook,and in traffic, than almost any other group in the world – can waste
time more efficiently from next month as the capital plans to install free
wireless Internet on along its main roads.
Those in the back of chauffeur
driven cars, taxis or on motorcycle taxies will be able to post status updates
for free during their long commutes at no cost thanks to wireless hotspots
currently being installed, said Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo.
“The city government is not
spending a cent on the free Internet,” he told a news conference this week.
“The hotspots are provided by private companies that have installed fiber
optics along the streets.”
The city administration said WIFI
along the main streets was the first step in a plan to make Jakarta one of the
world’s most connected cities by 2015. Under the plan, free hotspots will be installed
in all public places, including hospitals, mosques and churches.
Cynics wondered whether the WIFI
would be reliable and have suggested the move may be an attempt to garner votes
as Jakarta is scheduled to have a run-off election for governor on Sept. 20.
Incumbent Mr. Bowo is in a heated battle with Joko Widodo, the popular mayor of
Solo. The race may be so close that a few happy Twittterati could make the
difference, analysts say.
Messrs. Widodo and Bowo were
leaders in the first round of the gubernatorial election in July, securing 43%
and 34% of the votes, respectively. A runoff election was set for this month as
neither received more than 50% of the votes.
Mr. Bowo, who is seeking a second
term in office, has dismissed suggestions that the Internet offer was part of a
ploy to win votes. He told local media that the idea had been around since
before he knew he wasn’t going to easily be reelected.
Mr. Bowo has recently introduced
a series of populist policies. In July he announced that poor residents could
access free health-care services at 88 hospitals, and on Aug. 1 the city
administration announced a program to provide 12 years of free schooling. The
city only guaranteed nine years of free schooling previously.
Supporters of his rival, Mr. Widodo,
whose nickname is Jokowi, have been wooing the city’s many young, tech-savvy
voters.
Jokowi fans recently released an
Angry Birds-like game in which a comic book caricature of Mr. Widodo throws
tomato bombs at the enemies of Jakarta, such as corrupt businesspeople and
street thugs.
Meanwhile, a song supporting
Jokowi has gone viral on YouTube. The music video uses the tune of “What Makes
You Beautiful,” a popular song by British-Irish boy band One Direction.
The video, which has been viewed
more than 500,000 times, contains local language lyrics criticizing the current
administration’s perceived failure to solve traffic jams and provide efficient
public services.
Budi Siswanto, secretary of Mr.
Bowo’s campaign, said Mr. Bowo’s chances have not been hurt by the game or the
video and the governor is only setting up free WIFI across the metropolis to
help improve the lives of citizens.
“We are focusing on soft
campaigning by doing things such as meeting ordinary people face to face and
listening to what they have to say about their problems and their ideas on how
to make Jakarta better,” he said. “We are also targeting undecided voters, the
2.5 million people who did not vote in the first round.”
Whether witty songs or faster
downloads in slow traffic will decide the next leader of Indonesia’s biggest
city remains to be seen, but some skeptical Jakartans are already wondering if
they can depend on the freebies.
“Will (the WIFI) stop working
after the election?” said Anna Soemaermo Tandayu on Twitter.
Ahmad Pathoni and Eric Bellman
Business & Investment Opportunities
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