Kupang, the dirtiest city? Shame!
Kupang, the dirtiest city? Shame!
When I read the email letter written by Zafar Young from Singapore proposing that Kupang, the capital of East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), get an award for the dirtiest and nosiest city in Indonesia, I was not surprised. The government and the people of the city don’t seem to realize how their actions and way of living is impacting on the area. Is there no one there who sees how dirty their city is and what about the government, which has the power and authority to put in place controls to make urban living nicer? Is there no one in the administration or the police who is able to persuade people that their noisy audio systems bother other people or even violate their human rights to peace and quiet? As an Indonesian living abroad, I feel very ashamed when I read this kind of news, especially from visitors to Kupang who leave with bad memories of the city. These kind of stories should give the regional government and the mayor of Kupang something to think about. Don’t they have sufficient power to create rules based on national law to make Kupang clean, calm and safe? We will never attract investors and tourists to come to our region if we leave these problems uncontrolled. SEVERIN MEO GOA, Adelaide, Australia
http://www.thejakartapost.com/detaileditorial.asp?fileid=20050628.F05&irec=3
on June 28th, 2005 at 5:11 pm
And the hotest city also, i todd
on July 2nd, 2005 at 1:12 am
This is the referring letter:
Award for dirtiest city
A few days ago I wrote about Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara, as a prime candidate to receive an award for the dirtiest city in Eastern Indonesia.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono now has stated ( The Jakarta Post, June 7) that “A city with a dirty environment shows the inability of its leaders to manage their cities”. Noise pollution, of course, should also be added as a major target for the “Dirtiest City Award”.
Kupang qualifies not only as the dirtiest city but also the noisiest city in Indonesia. The mayor of Kupang of some 14 years, S.K. Lerik, appears not to hear nor see what goes on in his city. Perhaps he needs glasses and a hearing aid as city is getting more and more dirty and the level of noise created by bemos (mobile discos), motorbikes (with modified exhaust pipes) and the number of kiosks selling music CDs (pirated copies) and playing the music day and night at maximum volume (also near schools and the hospital) is increasing day by day. Of course this is all against the law but the powers that be in Kupang seem not to care; let alone apply the law and set a good example! Shame!! It is a pity that there will be no mayoral elections in Kupang soon. New leadership is required!
June 07, 2005
ZAFAR YOUNG
Singapore