IO – Young, intelligent, with a healthy dose of social empathy. That is Pilar Saga Ichsan, the Deputy Mayor of South Tangerang elected in the 2020 Simultaneous Regional Elections. That afternoon, Independent Observer had the special opportunity of talking with him and finding out more about him.
“Pilar”, as he is more commonly known, was born on 14 May 1991. A graduate of Parahyangan University Bandung’s Bachelor and Master’s program, he is originally an entrepreneur, before following his mothers’ footsteps (as well as that of his clan) into politics and important positions, both in Banten and elsewhere in the country.
Then what made him turn to politics? “One of the reasons is the realization that I can help more people by issuing people-centered policies. My parents have honed my social sensitivity since I was little. No matter what their profession or background, I have been taught to become empathetic towards them all. They also directed me towards organizations that hone this sensitivity and empathy. I became habituated to serving others. In fact, I feel extremely happy when I succeeded in helping others,” he said. “Even though my family is wealthy, I am friends with anyone as I please. I used to live in Bandung, and I have warm relations with the becak drivers and scavengers who lived near our old family home. Being close to people who are economically below me is not unusual to me at all.”
In college, Pilar was active in the campus’ nature lover organization. “When we go mountaineering, we usually pass by villages and see for ourselves how many people have such hard lives, so tough that they can’t even afford to go to school. Imagine being school age but having to work the fields instead of playing around and going to school, because you need to help your parents earn money for the family’s food… When we go on such trips, we usually make sure that we have something left over from our provisions – we give our uneaten tinned sardines, tinned corned beef to the local residents to express our thanks for their hospitality,” he said.
After graduating from college, Pilar continued to hone his sensitivity: “When I became a professional architect, I found out that other than building houses, I also love to create public spaces like libraries and city parks. Every time I create a public space, I make sure that it is really a place that the people can use for their activity, and that it contains local cultural values as well as the local identity,” he said.
Pilar’s politician parents taught him practical politics to complement his social sensitivity: “My parents always discuss politics and the Government whenever we have lunch and dinner together. My mother served as a Deputy Speaker of the Regional House of Representatives of the Province of Banten, before becoming the Deputy Regent of Serang. She is now in her second tenure as the Regent of Serang. Mother always says that as people in power, we must always create policies that are useful for the people, that benefit the people.”
“For example, the roads of the Regency of Serang used to be a great mess. My mother, she implemented a 1000 Km Asphalt Road program. No matter what, she made sure that all locales in the Regency were connected to each other with quality roads. With excellent roads, education becomes smooth and the economy grows. Farmers, fishermen, everyone can become productive because they are supported by strong necessary infrastructures.”
“That was what mother was committed to, and Allhamdulillah, praised be Allah, it works. She even upgraded village roads into regency roads so that necessary concrete and asphalt refinishing can be performed on them. That’s just one of her programs, and it’s very beneficial for the people.
Mother always repeats that when a person has power, and they have the honor to create policies that will help people. I keep seeing her do that, and I notice that she’s always happy to see how she helped others. And she’s right – I always feel so happy when I help people. It’s an honor and a pleasure,” Pilar said.
Therefore, when he was offered the position as Deputy Mayor of South Tangerang, Pilar took a month’s consideration before accepting. True, he has two reasons to enter politics: first, he can help more people using his position, and second, he can actualize himself better as an architect by making use of his position. However, he feels that his parents’ blessing is needed.
“Initially, my parents – especially mother – refused to allow me to get into politics because she thought I was not ready. She counseled me to remain as a professional for now, to become a career architect or open my business first. She said that I must focus on taking care of Governmental issues were I to enter the Government. My time would be so taken up, there would be so many restrictions for self-development as well. So I told mother, ‘What if I continue to develop my abilities by taking a Master’s Degree and a Doctorate, while serving the people? I can still learn much (about architecture) anyway from my Government work. I can still help with city zoning by providing input, according to my skills and knowledge.’ She finally relented,” Pilar said.
With his parents’ blessing and his commitment to fight for the people, Pilar was finally elected as Deputy Mayor of South Tangerang with Benyamin Davnie as Mayor. Pilar freely admits that his present success is greatly supported by the social capital he inherits from his clan. “This social capital has been accumulated since my grandfather’s day. He was more than a mere merchant or businessman – he was a sociopreneur, a philanthropist – and he was one of the men who created the Province of Banten. He helped everyone even if they were unrelated to him, even if he didn’t know them, even if they could not benefit him in any way, just because he loved people so much. He was especially kind to orphans, disabled people, and the clergy. He helped local figures a lot in his day.”
“I believe that my family has great social capital in the Banten community, thanks to grandfather. During the latest Regional Elections in South Tangerang, many elders, local figures connected to my grandfather – whether he helped them or they fought together in some endeavor or other – came to greet and support me. And that’s not just one or two persons, it’s literally hundreds! In fact, there were so many that I’m not sure I remember everyone…”
“Our family has always supported good politicians. For example, when Mrs. Atut (i.e. Ratu Atut Chosiyah) became the Governor (of the Province of Banten), many members of our family supported her because we felt that she created useful programs that really benefited the people. When in tenure, she frequently inspected things at field level directly and she was close with the little people. It’s the same thing when Mrs. Airin (i.e. Airin Rachmi Diany) became Mayor (of South Tangerang) – she had amazing influence. She socializes with so many people of all levels, and the level of concern that she shows to people and programs is equally amazing. This is my foundation. Other than my educational and professional background, this is what make people think, ‘Oh, if Pilar gets elected, we can expect such concern for the people from his programs,’” he said.
However, Pilar was elected not just because of his family’s reputation. “Of course my family’s influence is significant, but I can humbly yet honestly say that have the ability to match it. It’s a balance. Besides, I myself am active in various organizations, so a lot of people give me reference because they have seen my work in these organizations. During the Regional Elections campaign, I also visited the citizens. I have solid social ties, I did solid campaigning, I went down directly to see the people and I kept in touch with as many layers of society that I was able to,” he said.
After nearly a year executing his duties as Deputy Mayor, Pilar admitted that his biggest challenge has been the persistence of the Covid-19 pandemic. “The Government has lost a lot of energy in its efforts to mitigate Covid-19 this year. Because of the pandemic, a huge part of the budget had to be focused on Covid-19 mitigation. However, Alhamdulillah, our Regional Original Income has slowly returned to normal. In fact, we are starting to show signs of growth. We are starting to get more income from restaurants, cafés, hotel, and other entertainment business taxes again. We can finally start to optimize the use of our Regional Original Income, as South Tangerang earned IDR 1.5 trillion last year. We are a relatively independent region that does not burden the Central Government. Even many economic observers agree with the Regional Original Income that we earned,” he said.
What does Pilar want to do for South Tangerang in the next five years then? “Right now, one of my biggest programs with the Mayor is Kampung Membangun or Developing Hamlets. We are seeking to eliminate the disparities between urban hamlets and the fancy residential complexes created by developers. We seek to ensure that the two parts complement each other – for example, the residents of urban hamlets can work in fancy residential regions like BSD, Alam Sutera. We all need each other, after all,” he said.
The Kampung Membangun program seeks to improve the condition of the low-income areas by doing things such as providing sufficient public lighting and smooth roads, planting trees, and keeping things clean, by establishing independent waste management structures. These include proper drainage facilities as well as communal waste water processing installations to prevent foods. The program also includes the provision of children’s play areas, mini libraries with free WiFi network so that the people can take care of remote learning and remote businesses effectively. “This is what we are striving to do for now,” Pilar said. “The pilot area for this program is Kampung Nambo, District of Serpong. Previously a slum area, we are turning it into a beautiful, decent, and environmentally-sound place for smaller income people to live in. We have several other hamlets in line to follow after Kampung Nambo.”
The other program South Tangerang focuses on, other than Kampung Membangun, is the home rehabilitation program. “We are continuing the program Mrs. Airin initiated. The purpose is to make sure that the people living in urban hamlets live in decent homes, to forestall social envy towards richer people which may degenerate into violence in the future. So far, we have upgraded 1,900 homes, turning them into decent habitations,” Pilar said.
The South Tangerang Government is also sharpening its focus on the development of creative economy for small businesses in the area. “We are preparing free business training for South Tangerang citizens. Right now, 9,000 micro, small, and medium-sized businesses (usaha mikro, kecil, dan menengah – “UMKM”) have registered for the course. We are in the middle of legalizing a program to get these UMKMs properly documented, so that they can apply for business credit at a bank. We are coordinating a way to get banking credit for UMKMs, allowing South Tangerang citizens with UMKM to get credit from banks that cooperate with us. We are doing our part to help the people optimize their income,” Pilar said. “Another program we are pursuing is the construction of public spaces – sports facilities and city parks – to allow people to enjoy free social activities in each District. We want to ensure that South Tangerang citizens have high health and happiness levels.”
This year, South Tangerang plans to achieve universal health coverage (“UHC”) for its citizens. “UHC” means that all citizens have access to good quality and effective health promotions, health rehabilitation, disease prevention, and curative services. “We are striving to get 95% of South Tangerang citizens covered by BPJS health social services. In other words, we are making sure that medical costs for our citizens are covered by the Government as much as possible. We are expanding our network to ensure that this coverage applies in all regions of Indonesia. For example, say a South Tangerang citizen happens to be in Papua or Makassar when they become ill. They can still get free, or at least subsidized, medical treatment in Government health facilities because the Municipal Government of South Tangerang covers their BPJS. Alhamdulillah, the Ministry of Health assures us that we are well on our way to achieve UHC,” Pilar said.
At the close of our talk that day, Pilar asked us to deliver his message to our younger readers: “Age is no reason for not daring to do big things. Young people frequently don’t have the confidence to attempt something big, while history proves that youth achieves many things half the time. For example. Napoleon Bonaparte became the Emperor of France when he was in his 30’s back in the 19th century. In fact, he conquered most of Europe in his day. And then we have Sultan Muhammad Al Fatih of Turkey, who conquered Constantinople at the age of 21. We can’t let age scare us away from leadership position. As long as we can remain consistent and responsible, we should just take the leap,” he said. (des)