City takes breather on smoking ban plan due to lack of info

Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

Not yet ready to fully enforce the smoking ban in public places in February, the city administration has decided to postpone its implementation until June next year.

The decision was made after a brief survey showed that the dissemination of information on the new bylaw on air pollution control since its endorsement last February had yet to reach the wider public, an official said on Friday.

The assistant to the city secretary for people's welfare, Rohana Mandala, said the administration would deploy an antismoking task force to remind the public about the smoking prohibition.

"Between February and May, we will use the persuasive approach and not punish violators," Rohana told The Jakarta Post.

The postponement will not extend to civil servants and City Hall employees, who will receive administrative sanctions for smoking in prohibited areas in their offices from February.

The smoking prohibition is stipulated in Bylaw No. 2/2005 on air pollution control and carries a maximum punishment of six months in prison and a Rp 50 million (US$5,000) fine.

The bylaw bans smoking in public places, which include offices -- both government and private -- bus terminals, train stations, malls, airports, shopping centers, hotels and restaurants.

Public transportation mentioned in the bylaw, meanwhile, includes trains, taxis, buses, busway vehicles, public minivans and kancil.

Governor Sutiyoso issued Gubernatorial Regulation No. 75/2005, which serves as guidance for relevant parties to support the smoking ban, such as on establishing smoking rooms in all air- conditioned buildings in the city.

Rohana said the administration was producing advertisements on the smoking ban to be aired intensively during the February-June period.

The administration earlier sent letters to 89 building managements along Jl. Sudirman and Jl. Thamrin, reminding them about their obligation to set up smoking areas in their buildings.

Sixty-nine of them expressed readiness to establish smoking areas.

Studies have ranked Jakarta's air quality as the third-worst in the world after Mexico and Bangkok.

The new bylaw, which has earned praise from antismoking and environmental activists, also emphasizes the importance of curbing vehicular emissions, which contribute to over 70 percent of Jakarta's air pollution.

The ruling includes requirements for all public vehicles to use natural gas, as well as compulsory emission tests for all vehicles.

But it seems that many of the requirements will not be able to be implemented in February because of the city's poor preparation for the enforcement of the bylaw.

One glaring example of this is the city's failure to build more natural gas stations in the city to service public buses, which by law have to convert from fossil fuel to natural gas.