City to enforce rules, discipline

City to enforce rules, discipline

JAKARTA (JP): The city administration will launch a special
operation to promote public discipline, particularly in relation
to road use, deputy governor Idroes said yesterday.

Idroes, who is responsible for government affairs, told
reporters that the special operation would be conducted in
cooperation with the Jakarta branch of the Coordinating Agency
for National Stability and Security.

"The operation is aimed at encouraging the public to obey laws
on public order," he said, adding that it had been observed that
most people were unwilling to obey the rules unless there were
punishments for violating them.

Idroes said that the operation would commence as soon as
possible, adding that a special team was currently still being
prepared.

Many people still did not care, he said, about the national
discipline movement initiated by President Soeharto last month.
He said that many street vendors, for example, were continuing to
operate "recklessly" on pavements and pedestrian bridges and that
pedestrians were continuing to cross streets in places where
crossing was forbidden.

"It is true that it will take time to educate the public on
the importance of discipline and it will be more effective if the
city administration forces people to abide by the regulations
through the operation," he said.

Idroes said that the operation would be focused on 31 spots
from Pondok Labu, South Jakarta, to Kota in West Jakarta and from
Jl. Gatot Subroto in Central Jakarta to Cawang in East Jakarta.

"We will deploy officers at each point to make sure that
people obey the regulations," he said.

He said that people caught in the operation would be punished
in accordance with the existing regulations and laws.

"Those who litter, for example, will be fined according to the
regulations on sanitation, while those violating road rules will
be punished according to the existing traffic regulations," he
said.

Idroes said the operation was also aimed at disciplining
employees of the city administration whom, he said, should be
made into models for the city's other residents.

"Employees of the city administration should provide a good
example for other people," he said. (yns)