Jakarta, Nov. 15 -- Home Affairs Minister Tito Karnavian called for more decent, comfortable, and healthy housing in urban areas, saying improved housing is key to safer, more organized city governance.

Karnavian cited examples from Singapore and China, where densely populated neighborhoods in the late 1990s were gradually transformed through flats and vertical housing.

"We hope Jakarta can follow this model. We need to start by outreaching to the public," Karnavian said Saturday.

The minister stressed that expanding vertical housing in Jakarta and other dense urban areas can enhance city planning while providing public facilities such as sports complexes and green open spaces.

Karnavian recalled that, as former chief of the Metro Jay...