JAKARTA. Incumbent Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama has pledged to build low-cost apartments for young, newly married couples in the city, should he be elected for a second term.

“I will show concern for young couples. I will build relatively low-cost apartments for them so that they do not have to be separated for five hours because one of them is trapped in a traffic jam. So they will have a quality relationship and happy marriage,” Ahok told his supporters during an event at his Rumah Lembang campaign headquarters in Menteng, Central Jakarta, on Wednesday.

He was referring to traffic congestion in the capital, particularly during peak hours, where people, especially those from neighboring cities such as Bogor, Depok, Tangerang and Bekasi, can spend hours traveling between their home and office.

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Ahok hoped that with the apartments, young married workers could spend more time with their families, which would improve the psychological quality of marriages.

“So, if you hear that I only focus on establishing physical infrastructure, that’s not true. It’s difficult to compare our program [with other candidates’ plans],” Ahok added.

Previously, Ahok planned to construct low-cost apartments for commuters from satellite cities across Jakarta in an attempt to ease traffic and enable young couples with a child to live in the capital while at the same time continuing to pay a mortgage in their home cities.

Although they are categorized as “low-cost”, commuters from Greater Jakarta would pay more than normal for the low-cost apartments. While the rent for regular low-cost apartments is Rp 15,000 (US$1.12) per day, the fee for commuters would be Rp 100,000 per day. (Nurul Fitri Ramadhani)