JAKARTA. Companies planning to promote their products commercially can now consider hiring Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjajaja Purnama as a model in exchange for providing public facilities for the capital.

Ahok welcomed companies that want to use him as a model in their promotional campaigns.

"I am very happy to be asked to wear a promotional T-shirt like this because then the city and I will be granted four buses. I am the most expensive model in the country," he said at an event in Jakarta on Wednesday.

The governor was wearing a T-shirt and a cap with the logo of Dulux, a paint product of the Dutch multinational paint company, AkzoNobel, during the signing ceremony of an agreement between the city administration and the firm.

AkzoNobel had agreed to repaint old heritage buildings in the city's prominent Old Town area, locally known as "Kota Tua", in West Jakarta and in Pasar Ikan, North Jakarta, under the city's corporate social responsibility ( CSR ) scheme. The company would also provide four double-decker buses, worth Rp 14 billion ( US$1,03 million ) to use for touring the area.

Moreover, AkzoNobel also vowed to provide trash cans in Kota Tua as well as repaint the bus stops, pedestrian bridges and road underpasses near Kota Tua and Pasar Ikan.

"Repainting buildings in Kota Tua is an important move to preserve its cultural heritage, which will likely be recognized as world heritage site by UNESCO," AkzoNobel president director Jun de Dios said, during the signing ceremony.

The Jakarta administration aims to revitalize the Kota Tua and Pasar Ikan areas to attract tourism. The city has been teaming up with private firms under their CSR scheme to fund projects, as well as raise funds derived from floor building coefficient ( KLB ) requirements.

The administration is currently focusing on transforming Kota Tua and Pasar Ikan into a tourism attraction that promotes the area's martime-based heritage, which will also welcome foreign visitors during 2018 Asian Games.(Agnes Anya)

Editor: Barratut Taqiyyah Rafie