Ali Sadikin

Ali Sadikin (7 July 1926 – 20 May 2008) was an Indonesian politician who served as the fourth governor of Jakarta from 1966 until 1977.

Ali was born in Sumedang, West Java, on 7 July 1926, to Sundanese parents.

He was the fifth child of six children from Raden Sadikin and Itjih Karnasih.

His oldest brother, Hasan Sadikin, became a doctor whose name is immortalized in a hospital in Bandung; his second oldest brother owned a printing press; his third oldest brother Usman Sadikin, worked at Garuda Indonesia; his fourth oldest brother, Abu Sadikin, was a soldier in the Army; and his youngest brother is Said Sadikin.

As a young boy, Ali wanted to become a sailor.

During the Japanese occupation of Indonesia, he entered the Great Shipping Officer Education (P3B) which is now known as the Semarang Shipping Science Polytechnic.

During the war of independence, Ali joined the Naval Section of the People's Security Agency, the forerunner of the modern Indonesian Navy.

He was sent to Tegal, Central Java to form a Navy base and Marine Corps.

During the war, he fought against the Dutch during Operation Product and Operation Kraai.

Ali Sadikin also helped crush Permesta in North Sulawesi.

According to a story, he bravely advanced to the front line, running while firing a machine gun.

One of his friends called his fighting "Hollywood Style."

Before1950s became governor, he served as Minister of Transportation from 1963 until 1966 and Coordinating Minister for Marine Affairs from 1964 until 1966.

Following the end of the national revolution, Ali remained in the navy and fought against the Permesta rebel movement in the late 1950s.

In 1963, he was appointed Minister of Transportation by President Sukarno.

A year later, he was appointed coordinating minister of the newly formed Coordinating Ministry for Maritime and Investments Affairs.

On 28 April 1966, Ali was appointed governor of Jakarta, becoming the first governor in Indonesia to be sworn in at the Merdeka Palace.

As governor, Ali carried out the construction of Jakarta's infrastructure.

He constructed the Ismail Marzuki Park, Ragunan Zoo, Ancol Dreamland, and several other infrastructure projects.

Notably, Ali allowed the construction of night entertainment projects, as well as allowing entertainment in the form of gambling in Jakarta, with taxes generated from gambling being used to build the city and the Jakarta Islamic Centre.

Ali's governorship also saw the revival of Betawi culture in Jakarta, with the increased popularity of Ondel-ondel performances and the Betawi mask dance.

Ali Sadikin was directly inaugurated by President Sukarno as Governor of Jakarta on Thursday, 28 April 1966 at 10:00 at the Merdeka Palace.

His inauguration was based on Presidential Decree No. 82/1966.

In that decision, Ali, who is also a member of the staff of the Deputy Minister for Economics, Finance, and Development, was deemed capable and fulfilled the requirements to become the Governor of Jakarta.

A former officer in the Indonesian Marine Corps, he saw the city as a battlefield.

He sought to improve public services, clear out slum dwellers, ban becaks (cycle rickshaws), and outlaw street peddlers.

Sadikin's role in bulldozing poor areas of Jakarta was part of a long history of struggle over land use in the region.

Through legislation, Sadikin successfully wrested control over large amounts of poor housing.

These areas he gave at minimal cost to developers such as the Jaya Group.

For Abidin Kusno, Sadikin was part of a modernist program to attack irrationality, criminalize poverty, and create obedient national citizens.

At the same time, he sought to kampung-ize city dwellers—to reinvest them in village sociality and mutual aid (gotong royong).

Ali also tried to halt migration into Jakarta by declaring the city closed to newcomers.

He issued residency cards in the hope of enforcing the policy but failed to curtail population growth.

One of the earliest and most outspoken advocates of family planning, Sadikin showed that Muslim groups would support these policies.

Under Sadikin, the Jakartan pilgrimage to Mecca and other holy places surged.

Hungry for revenue for his projects, Sadikin legalized gambling and steambaths (de facto brothels), much to the outrage of many Muslim groups.

Although Sadikin's restructuring of land in Jakarta displaced countless urban poor, he also advocated for the LBH, the Legal Aid Society; an organization that was used by both the private sector and the urban poor.

He also served as Chairman of the Football Association of Indonesia from 1977 until 1981.

Born to parents of ethnic-Sundanese descent, Ali attended the Semarang Shipping Science Polytechnic during the Japanese occupation period.

During the Indonesian National Revolution, he joined the People's Security Agency Navy, the predecessor to the Indonesian Navy, and fought against the Dutch during Operation Product and Operation Kraai.