Gas station collusion

Dozens of green belt areas have now been developed to accommodate various buildings, such as houses, neighborhood/community unit posts or gas stations. In the case of gas stations, Sub-office Head of Central Jakarta Parks Katharina Suryawati said that if a gas station permit had expired, it could be reviewed and the gas station relocated, as stated in Tempo daily newspaper of Nov. 6.

To support the implementation of Khatarina's good intentions and to prevent the impression that there is collusion between the Jakarta administration and gas station owners, I propose that a name plate showing the expiry date of the gas station's permit should be installed and clearly visible to the public. That way the public could be involved in supervising the status and period of operational validity for gas stations.

Therefore, the city administration should not be the only authority that supervises gas stations, a control that could tempt both city administration officials and gas station owners into colluding with each other to the disbenefit of the public.

If, for example, a gas station cannot be relocated, the city administration, aiming to play fairly, transparently and to generate maximum profit, should openly put to tender the gas station ownership and operating rights. Consequently, the best offer, which generates the best advantage to the city administration, will become the winner.

H. WISDARMANTO GS

Jakarta