A bright idea

A bright idea

From Suara Karya

Sometime ago I read an article about kancil (small vehicles)
in Suara Karya. The kancil -- a gas-fueled vehicle capable of
seating four passengers -- is slated for mass production to
replace the bajaj (three-wheeled motorized vehicle). In the
1990s, a similar idea was put forward, but this idea, too, was
one with the wind.

I share the view of the Jakarta administration that the bajaj
should be replaced, mainly because of the noise and air pollution
associated with the vehicle.

Apparently there is little we can do about it. Our state
budget is too limited to mass produce the kancil. Given this
fact, I would like to suggest that the government only replacing
the engines of bajaj. By so this, the government wouldn't have to
bother too much about the budget, and at the same time part of
noise pollution problem would be resolved. In addition, bajaj
drivers need not worry about losing their jobs. Governor Sutiyoso
should hold some sort of a competition among university students
and private industrial companies to design a "quiet",
environmentally friendly engine suitable to replace the noisy,
aging engines of the bajaj. The engines the bajaj currently run
on have never undergone any changes, and only add to the already
polluted skies of Jakarta.

JERRY HARTONO

Tangerang, Banten