Ahmad Junaidi, Jakarta – Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso tried to calm hundreds of angry flood victims by partially opening the Manggarai floodgate in Central Jakarta on Friday.

Sutiyoso's move revealed a long-suspected bias that the floodgate, which functions to accommodate the Ciliwung river, protects the rich and powerful on the northern side of the gate from floods and lets those in its southern part to suffer from the deluge. The victims, who mostly live in slums around the floodgate almost ran amok on Friday because they could no longer bear the regular annual floods.

The governor admitted that opening the gate, even only 20 centimeters, could affect the area around the National Monument (Monas) park, including the presidential palace on Jl. Medan Merdeka Utara.

Other areas, which will be first hit by the flood if the floodgate is opened, include the elite Menteng district in Central Jakarta, where many of the country's leaders live. Among them are President Megawati Soekarnoputri, who lives on Jl. Teuku Umar; Vice President Hamzah Haz, who live on Jl. Diponegoro as well as Sutiyoso, who lives on Jl. Taman Suropati.

Former president Soeharto and his family live on Jl. Cendana and other roads also in the Menteng area. The official residences of several foreign ambassadors are also located in the area, which was set up as an exclusive housing complex during the Dutch colonial era.

Manggarai floodgate was also designed by the Dutch and built in 1918. The floodgate's construction marked the completion of the development of the 17-kilometer West Flood Canal, which functions to take in water from the city's 13 rivers before they empty into the Java sea. It is still unclear whether the Dutch really designed the floodgate to protect only the rich and powerful people at that time.

The floodgate has three gates: two gates for the West Flood Canal and one gate for the Ciliwung river. The West Flood Canal which also accommodates water from the Ciliwung river, passes along Jl. Latuharhari and Cideng area in West Jakarta before it flows into the sea in North Jakarta.

The waters of the Ciliwung river are also taken in by another canal through the Cikini area in Menteng district and Gambir area near the State Palace. Before reaching the palace, the flow of water will be halted by another floodgate near the Istiqlal Mosque. The Manggarai and Istiqlal floodgates are among the city's 37 floodgates, which were built along the city's 13 rivers. Thirty-five of the floodgates are more than 30 years old while two of the gates were built recently.