Jakarta floods prove a political hot potato

By Jewel Topsfield and Karuni Rompies
Updated February 23 2017 - 6:35pm, first published 4:38pm
Children play on flooded streets after heavy monsoon rains in Bukit Duri, Jakarta, Indonesia on Tuesday. Photo: Jefri Tarigan
Children play on flooded streets after heavy monsoon rains in Bukit Duri, Jakarta, Indonesia on Tuesday. Photo: Jefri Tarigan
Jakarta flooding on Thursday. Photo: Jefri Tarigan
Jakarta flooding on Thursday. Photo: Jefri Tarigan
Jakarta's governor Basuki Ahok Tjahaja Purnama casts his ballot last week. Photo: Jefri Tarigan
Jakarta's governor Basuki Ahok Tjahaja Purnama casts his ballot last week. Photo: Jefri Tarigan
Parts of flood-prone Jakarta are below sea level.  Photo: Jefri Tarigan
Parts of flood-prone Jakarta are below sea level. Photo: Jefri Tarigan
The leader of the Gerindra party Prabowo Subianto with Jakarta gubernatorial candidate Anies Baswedan and vice governor Sandiaga Uno last week. Photo: Oktaviano
The leader of the Gerindra party Prabowo Subianto with Jakarta gubernatorial candidate Anies Baswedan and vice governor Sandiaga Uno last week. Photo: Oktaviano
Some Bukit Duri residents have moved, but others refused to evacuate.  Photo: Jefri Tarigan
Some Bukit Duri residents have moved, but others refused to evacuate. Photo: Jefri Tarigan

Jakarta: Severe flooding is not unusual in Jakarta, a city already 40 per cent below sea level and sinking at an average of three inches a year, but rarely has it been so politicised as this past week.

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