Antique car owners hold rally

Antique car owners hold rally

The owner of an antique car (picture above) drives past the Hotel
Indonesia traffic circle on Jl. Thamrin in Central Jakarta on
Sunday morning on his way to a protest against a proposal to ban
old cars from Jakarta's streets.

Hundreds of antique car owners from the Indonesia Antique Cars
Fan Association (PPMKI) drove from the National Monument park to
Jl. Sudirman and Jl. Thamrin as part of the protest.

Car owners from several car clubs such as VW, Morris, Holden
and Mercedez Benz also criticized the government's plan not to
extend the car ownership documents of antique vehicles.

"Don't blame antique cars for using up a lot of fuel and
polluting the air because the owners rarely use the cars. We use
them once or twice a week," said Roy Suryo, a PPMKI member.

The government and city police announced earlier they were
considering banning old cars from Jakarta's streets to reduce
energy consumption and pollution in the capital.

Roy, a telecommunications expert, said most antique cars used
less fuel than newer vehicles.

"A Morris, for examples, uses one liter of fuel for every 15
kilometers, while a new car uses one liter for seven or eight
kilometers," he said.

He said the PPMKI would write a letter to President Susilo
Bambang Yudhoyono to protest the proposed ban.