Governor placates agency-police 3-in-1 spat
Governor placates agency-police 3-in-1 spat
Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Governor Sutiyoso threw his weight behind the Jakarta Transportation Agency in its tug of war with Jakarta Police over who has the authority to ticket three-in-one traffic offenders.
The governor told journalists at City Hall after Friday prayers that as administrator of Jakarta -- who issued the bylaw on the extension of three-in-one traffic policy from Blok M in South Jakarta to Kota in West Jakarta from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. and from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. -- he had discussed the issue with the city police chief.
Sutiyoso argued that the transportation agency officers were merely assisting traffic police by ticketing violators.
"They (police) would not be able to manage the task alone since the restricted zone is bigger," he said. "We only aim to help them in significantly reducing traffic violations. It is the result that matters."
The agency had earlier based their argument on Bylaw No. 12/2003 on transportation that allows its officers to take stern measures against offenders.
Article 104 of the bylaw stipulates that the transportation agency head has the authority to control and enforce the bylaw to ensure the public complies with the regulation.
The argument was rebuffed by the city police spokesman Sr. Comr. Prasetyo who said on Thursday that Law No. 14/1992 on traffic stipulated that the police force had the authority to impose sanctions on violators. Meanwhile, Article 53 of the law stipulates that the transportation agency is only authorized to impose sanctions on public vehicles and trucks that fail to meet standard requirements on load and exhaust emission.
Prasetyo said that the police enforced the Traffic Law, which was legally more powerful than a bylaw.
Sutiyoso said that he had ordered the transportation agency head Rustam Effendy to discuss the issue further with Prasetyo.
Since the full implementation of the three-in-one bylaw on Jan. 26, both policemen and transportation agency officers have ticketed thousands of people driving in the three-in-one zone with fewer than three people in the vehicle.