A noted political scientist has thrown his weight behind Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo over the motives of political parties' assistance to flood victims, saying that helping with ulterior political overtures must be rejected.
Ibramsyah, a professor of political science at the University of Indonesia, said that "helping flood victims with political motives would only distance people from political parties," because people are too smart to be fooled by such political maneuverings.
If the political parties sincerely wished to help, then they should go straight to the victims without advertising themselves or raising banners everywhere to attract public attention, the professor said.
Joko has said that political parties that wish to channel material assistance to the flood victims should drop their items at the many emergency centers already set up by the city government.
Defying the governor's appeal, political parties are making use of the flood momentum to win people's hearts through their distribution of material assistance way ahead of the 2014 legislative election.
Such a strategy cannot work effectively in the capital city where residents are very well informed, Ibramsyah said.
If they were smart, he continued, they would conceal their identity so that aid recipients would feel challenged to find out where the aid had come from. Having realized the source of the generosity, recipients would then feel genuine respect for the parties.
But a sudden display of generosity that comes with no rational explanation would only be counterproductive for the parties, no matter how big their contributions, Ibramsyah said.
Knowing that their appearance would run counter to the Jakarta governor's appeal and continuous mass media criticism, politicians from even the big and ruling parties have now deployed their wives in flood relief efforts, carrying food, medicines and clothes – and presumably also their business cards.
Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs Djoko Suyanto has already urged an end to natural disaster politicking and called on politicians not to take advantage of the city residents' suffering.
The wives of House members from the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) led the way on Thursday carrying instant food mixes, milk, blankets, medicines and other items to the victims.
Feeling "defeated," the wives of House members from the ruling Democratic Party did the same on the next day, immediately followed by the wives of politicians of the National Awakening Party (PKB). House speaker Marzuki Alie, who is a leading figure of the ruling party, was also visiting flood victims on Saturday.
Joko said he did not mind receiving assistance from political parties for the flood victims if indeed such assistance was not politically motivated. But the fact is, he said, parties are looking at the flood disaster as a great opportunity to garner support from the public.
For that reason, the governor asked for all contributions to be pooled at the emergency centers managed by the city government.
"If they want to come in, so be it, but not for setting up their own distribution centers, otherwise it would be difficult to coordinate," Joko said.
"If every party wants to do it its own way, residents will be confused because it will be unclear who is in command," said the governor, who has deployed more than 26,000 city employees at emergency centers.
Democratic Party politician Syofwatillah Mohzaib complained, however, that politicians always seemed to be doing something in the eyes of the people, even when they are only trying to do the right thing.
"Even when we do something right, it always looks wrong to many, and even more so when we don't do something right. So perhaps we had better give it to God to evaluate," Mohzaib said.
Mohzaib explained assistance from the Democratic Party that has for several days been channeled to flood victims was not intended to increase the party's popularity ahead of the legislative election.
In a related development on Saturday, urban political expert Irwansyah from the University of Indonesia said that Jakarta will be inundated by flooding every year for the next 10 years unless a total overhaul is made.
This means rebuilding the drainage and waste disposal systems, and improving related infrastructure in a comprehensive city planning overhaul, he said.
"If we don't have sufficient canals, water catchment systems are poor and public space deteriorates, it is no surprise that we will become a flooded city every year," Irwansyah added.
Heavy downpours in Jakarta and surrounding provinces in recent days have caused chaos in many parts of the capital as state electricity company PLN shuttered electricity distribution posts and shopping centers reported running out of candles – leaving thousands of residents in the dark at night.
On Saturday, many parts of the city were still inundated and mud spoiled the main roads. Flood waters, though, have receded significantly compared to a few days ago.
So far, no credible estimate has been made on the tangible losses to the local and national economies as well as to public life. But independent observers say the actual value of the damage could be in the trillions of rupiah.