Council to hold discussion on traffic sticker scheme<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The City Council announced yesterday it would
\ninvite critics of the highly controversial traffic sticker system
\nfor input before it seals the plan with a bylaw.<\/p>\n
Council speaker Edy Waluyo said the initiative was meant to
\nbuild \"better understanding\" between the administration, the
\nlegislative council and the public.<\/p>\n
Among those to be invited are representatives of non-
\ngovernmental organizations which have been outspoken against the
\nplan, such as the Jakarta Legal Aid institute and the Indonesian
\nConsumers Foundation (YLKI).<\/p>\n
Edy said the date for the discussion was still tentative but
\nit would take place before the sticker system try-out from August
\nthrough November.<\/p>\n
\"The meeting will be like brainstorming. Thereby I hope each
\nparticipant will understand better their reasoning and all the
\ngood intentions behind the sticker plan,\" he told reporters.<\/p>\n
Edy said the council would act as the facilitator between the
\npublic and the executive branch of the bureaucracy.<\/p>\n
The system, which the President has endorsed in principle, has
\nbeen the target of stinging criticism from many quarters since
\nnews about the plan was mentioned in the media earlier this year.<\/p>\n
Critics argue the plan contradicts a law which bars the
\ngovernment from charging levies for non-toll roads. There have
\nalso been accusations the policy is discriminative in favor of
\nwealthier citizens even though all taxpayers contribute to the
\nconstruction of roads.<\/p>\n
The plan requires vehicles to bear stickers when entering Jl.
\nM.H. Thamrin and Jl. Jend. Sudirman from 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.
\nand from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays. Stickers will cost Rp
\n5,000 (40 U.S. cents) for a one-day entry and Rp 80,000 for a
\nmonth.<\/p>\n
It will replace the three-in-one traffic regulation introduced
\nin 1992 to deal with chronic traffic congestion.<\/p>\n
The latter, which requires private cars to carry at least
\nthree people when passing the restricted zones, is considered to
\nhave been largely ineffective in easing traffic congestion.<\/p>\n
Beleaguered governor Sutiyoso has said that the revenues from
\nthe implementation of the sticker system will be used to buy more
\nand better public buses.<\/p>\n
After being flailed by weeks of criticism over the plan,
\nSutiyoso suggested Wednesday that people should establish a type
\nof independent body to control the implementation of the system.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the YLKI welcomed the council's plan to hold
\ndialogs with NGOs on the project, but was lukewarm to the
\ngovernor's recommendation.<\/p>\n
\"(In the meeting) we can listen to what the administration has
\nin mind with the plan,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Agus said, however, that YLKI was not interested in Sutiyoso's
\nidea for an independent body because there was no legal basis for
\nsuch an organization.<\/p>\n
\"I don't thing such a body would really work because it would
\nnot be able to audit the financial report as the job already
\nbelongs to the government state audit agency.\"<\/p>\n
On Wednesday, Minister of Communications Giri Suseno
\nHadihardjono advised that the city administration adopt a
\ncompromise solution of applying the sticker and three-in-one
\nsystems concurrently.<\/p>\n
\"Private cars which carry less than three people would be
\nrequired to buy a sticker when entering the restricted zone,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Despite efforts at fine tuning the plan, criticism of the
\nsystem continued to be voiced by people from all walks of life
\nyesterday, among them former minister of transmigration Siswono
\nYudohusodo and political scholar Arbi Sanit.<\/p>\n
Siswono said the project had weak legal basis because a
\npresidential decree cannot be used as the grounds for fee
\ncollection under law.<\/p>\n
Arbi and Siswono said the governor should have consulted the
\npeople before deciding on implementing the controversial project.<\/p>\n
Cyntia, a student of Pancasila University, contended that the
\nsticker price of Rp 5,000 for day-long entry to restricted zones
\nwas too expensive.<\/p>\n
\"Not all motorists are rich,\" she said.<\/p>\n
\"It seems that the government means to impose its own will and
\nwon't listen to the people,\" said lecturer Maria Margaretha from
\nRawamangun, East Jakarta. (ind)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/council-to-hold-discussion-on-traffic-sticker-scheme-1447893297",
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