Callistasia Anggun Wijaya, Jakarta – Jakarta gubernatorial candidates Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono and Anies Baswedan condemned incumbent Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama for his eviction policy during the official debate on Friday.

Agus said that Ahok's eviction policy had created new poor people in the city. He said that such a policy would no longer exist if he was elected.

"I say that we will manage the city without conducting evictions. Evictions have increased urban poverty. The evictees lost everything, including their homes and jobs," Agus said.

Anies added that Ahok had broken his promise, made in 2012 when he ran as a Jakarta deputy gubernatorial candidate, to construct kampung deret (elevated villages) in the city, instead of evicting them.

Anies said that he would focus on achieving urban renewal instead of arbitrarily evicting the residents, if he was elected.

Ahok defended his eviction policy by saying that the eviction was crucial to normalize the river in the city. It was not right to let residents live on river banks, he said.

"We shouldn't punish them [the residents who live on river banks] but rather move them to a proper place. How can we normalize the rivers if we don't relocate the residents?" he said.

The governor added that he had tried to improve the quality of life of the relocated people by giving them meal subsidies and preparing education assistance for their children. (dan)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2017/01/13/agus-anies-condemn-ahok-for-his-eviction-policy.html