'Air pollution is the worst problem'

'Air pollution is the worst problem'

World Environment Day was commemorated on June 5, which, this
year, focuses on efforts to conserve marine resources. In
conjunction with the commemoration, The Jakarta Post asked some
people for their opinion on the quality of the city's environment
and what they do to protect it.

Astuti, 37, works at a kiosk in front of Kramatjati Central
Market, East Jakarta. She lives with her husband and three of her
children in Susukan, East Jakarta:

Houses in slum areas, which are usually rented out, can look
less dirty if the owners work together with the tenants to keep
them clean. Usually, owners, once they've leased the dwellings,
couldn't care less about their cleanliness.

Vendors of asinan (traditional, preserved, spicy mixed fruit)
live on an alley that leads to my house and the area is always
littered with discarded fruit peel. It's so bad during the rainy
season, when it's wet and muddy, that I don't use that route
anymore.

The neighborhood unit chief or the house owners should start a
cleanliness program in the neighborhood. If one person starts,
others will surely follow.

Sofyan, 27, is a salesperson at an electronics company in
Sudirman, Central Jakarta. He lives with his parents in
Manggarai, South Jakarta:

The worst environmental problem in Jakarta is definitely air
pollution. There are too many cars, not too mention old buses,
that spew out thick black smoke.

The government should replace the old buses with new ones. It
should also reduce the number of cars, perhaps by limiting the
length of time they can be used. But then again, as usual, will
such programs be carried out properly?

Nevertheless, the government should produce regulations to
cover these matters and enforce them. You can't expect the public
to comply voluntarily as people these days are very ignorant
about their surroundings.

--The Jakarta Post