Corrupt officials leave Jakartans wheezing

Corrupt officials leave Jakartans wheezing

Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

For many Jakartans, being choked by highly polluted air while
sitting in a seemingly endless traffic jam is daily occurrence
and irritant.

And things are going to get worse, with air pollution set to
increase in the future rather than improve mainly due to the
growth in the number of motor vehicles.

"Air quality will worsen mainly due to rising vehicular
pollution in line with increased consumption of fuel in the
city," Kosasih Wirahadikusumah, the director of the Jakarta
Environmental Management Agency (BPLHD), told The Jakarta Post on
Wednesday.

Kosasih was alluding to increasing fuel consumption by the
growing number of vehicles operating in the already-overcrowded
streets of the city.

About 70 percent of Jakarta's air pollution stems from
pollutants spewed out by motor vehicles, while the remaining 30
percent comes from industrial emissions.

According to the Jakarta Police's Traffic Division, the growth
in the number of vehicles in the city is around 5 percent per
month.

As of the start of 2003, there were more than 4,140 vehicles
operating in the city, not to mention vehicles from other towns.

The latest data from the city administration indicates that
the consumption of diesel fuel topped the list with up to 2.2
million kiloliters being consumed annually, followed by premium
gasoline at 1.9 million kiloliters a year, kerosene at 1.5
million kiloliters a year, and gas fuel at 1.5 billion cubic
meter a year.

Diesel fuel is mostly used for public transportation and
commercial vehicles, which are on the road for much longer than
private cars, thus contributing a great deal to the city's air
pollution.

"In addition, most of the diesel fuel sold in Jakarta is of
low quality and gives off a lot of sulfur pollutants," Kosasih
noted.

Despite worsening air quality, many motorists seem not to care
about the pollutants emanating from the exhausts of their
vehicles.

Warsana, 28, a resident of Kebon Jeruk, West Jakarta, plans to
purchase a second-hand car, and says he does not care if it
pollutes the air.

"Yes, I know that Jakarta's air is highly polluted. But, for
me, an affordable, comfortable car is preferable to a new one,
which of course would be too expensive for me," he said. He also
said that he did not have any plans to check the emissions of the
car he buys.

Chief of the Jakarta Police's Traffic Division Sr. Comr.
Sulistyo Ishak admitted there was a lack of regulations obliging
motorists, especially private car owners, to have their vehicles'
emissions regularly checked.

"We in Indonesia have no regulations like they have in
Singapore, which imposes very high taxes on owners of secondhand
cars, which frequently have high emission levels. So, they prefer
to buy new cars rather than paying the high taxes," said
Sulistyo.

As of today, the city administration only requires the owners
of public transportation and commercial vehicles to take emission
tests.

However, the regulation does not work. Many owners of public
transportation and commercial vehicles prefer to bribe corrupt
government officials instead of fixing up their engines in order
to reduce emissions. Many corrupt government officials are
willing to issue roadworthy certificates for vehicles without
checking their emissions.

BPLHD data in 2001 showed that 77.6 percent of public
transportation and commercial vehicles in Jakarta did not pass
the emission tests. The majority of private cars also failed the
tests. A total of 78.13 percent of cars made in 1985, 67.32
percent of those made between 1986 and 1994, and 56.91 percent of
those made in 1995 and after, did not pass the tests.