1,500 officers deployed for Operation Zebra
JAKARTA (JP): City Police Chief Maj. Gen. Mochammad Hindarto launched the scheduled month-long operation on vehicle documents yesterday, deploying 1,500 personnel from various institutions.
The operation, codenamed Operation Zebra 1994, includes personnel from the police, military, Traffic and Land Transportation Control Agency (DLLAJR), military police of the Armed Forces (POM-ABRI) and state-owned tollroad firm PT Jasa Marga.
"We're also looking for a possible cooperation with the judicial affairs office in a bid to set up on-the-spot courts to help speed up the trial process for traffic violators," he announced.
Beginning yesterday, all the personnel would be assigned to separate groups to monitor and, if necessary, check the completion of motorists' documents and their vehicle's equipment.
The operation also aims at helping provide a better image of the capital city and its community to participants of the upcoming Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum.
"We are striving to create a nation with highly disciplined people. We do not want to be called a nation of no traffic ethics by other people," Hindarto said.
The two-star general, therefore, urged all related officers and members of the community to join forces in handling the city's traffic problems.
"There will be no more licenses for vendors selling on the road or at the roadsides, no more troubled parking areas, no more complaints about a lack of traffic signs and no more officers who accept bribes," he stressed.
The 17-member APEC forum will hold a meeting in Bogor, 30 kilometers south of here, but most of the heads of states will stay at hotels in the capital.
U.S. President Bill Clinton is also expected to attend the forum.
Controversial Law
Operation Zebra 1994 has been well prepared by the City Police since early this month through the issuance of stiff warnings and other stern measures to motorists.
The operation is also part of the authorities' effort to further enforce the controversial Traffic Law No. 14 issued in 1992 which imposes large fines, ranging up to some Rp 6 million, against traffic violators.
In line with the operation, the City DLLAJ office has installed another 23,500 traffic signs at points in and around the city. Previously, there were only some 7,500 signs available.
Hindarto also pledged to take harsh measures against any of his personnel found accepting bribes from the violators.
"There's no compromise on this issue," he said.
During the operation, traffic offenders will be ticketed under the new tariff scale, ranging from Rp 15,000 to Rp 150,000 for various infractions, and are required to choose one of three alternatives given.
The first option is that the violator acknowledges his offenses and pays the fine at a nearby office of the state Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI). The second is that the violator admits his offenses and is willing to attend the court hearings in person and pay the fine based on the judge's decision. The final alternative is for the violator to not admit his offense but pay the fine only after a decision is made by the judge. (bsr)