Bantul Transport Agency Clarifies Illegal Parking at Independence Day Ceremony Site

Complaints from participants of the 17 August ceremony in Trirenggo, Bantul, who were asked to pay for parking despite the presence of Transport Agency (Dishub) officers, went viral on social media. The Bantul Dishub has since issued a clarification. The incident was widely shared on the Instagram account @kabarmahasiwa.id. The post stated that a number of participants attending the Independence Day ceremony were still asked to pay parking fees by parking attendants, even though Dishub officers were visible at the location. A policewoman who arrived at the scene was also seen paying when asked for parking money. The incident drew criticism and was seen as normalising illegal levies.

Head of Bantul Dishub, Singgih Riyadi, acknowledged that any event involving large crowds inevitably leads to parking problems. He said that before the series of events for the 81st Independence Day, Bantul Dishub had coordinated with Trirenggo Village. “We had anticipated this. Before the anniversary events, we coordinated with Trirenggo Village, Jogoboyo and Dukuh so that during the events and the 17th ceremony no problems would arise from parking,” said Singgih on Tuesday (18/8/2026). He stressed that Dishub did not issue any permits for parking at the event site. Singgih argued that the presence of the parking attendant had nothing to do with his agency. “We at Dishub did not issue a parking permit there (Trirenggo field) during the 17 August ceremony,” he said. Furthermore, Dishub did not receive a single penny from the parking attendant who collected fees during the ceremony at Trirenggo field. “The parking levies there did not go to Dishub or the regional treasury,” he said.

As a follow-up, the parking attendant was summoned for clarification. “The person who collected the parking fees was summoned today for clarification,” he said. According to the attendant’s account, he did not force anyone; rather, the parking money was given voluntarily by participants. Singgih said Dishub would conduct further clarification to verify this. “Based on the preliminary account, it was said to be voluntary, so the individual claims he did not collect by force, only voluntarily. But all of that is still a preliminary account and we are still seeking clarification,” he said.