Minibus drivers continue their sit-in strike
JAKARTA (JP): Hundreds of drivers of the city minibuses continued their sit-in strikes for the third consecutive day yesterday but stranded commuters were no longer seen as of yesterday afternoon.
Many employees and school students, the main users of the public vehicles, were believed to have taken other forms of transportation even though they had to spend more time to reach their destination.
"I've haven't been able to get to school for two days because of the strike," said Dewi Lindawati, a high school student.
Head of the terminal, Kasmir B. revealed that only 58 out of the 625 Metro Mini minibuses and 51 out of the 285 Kopaja minibuses were operating that day. Worse, none of the 13 Koantas Bima were operating as yesterday evening.
The drivers are protesting the new law, which sets fines of between Rp 15,000 ($7) and Rp 150,000 (S75), not Rp 50,000 as reported yesterday, for offenses ranging from failing to carry a driver's license, jaywalking and ignoring traffic signals.
"But there are not longer crowds of passengers stranded at this terminal as we saw on previous days," he said.
One of the reasons for the improvement, in his opinion, was due to 45 police and military personnel that were deployed to assist the DLLAJ employees to provide seats for the passengers.
President Soeharto yesterday instructed Governor Surjadi Soedirdja to continue the current action taken by the city authorities in handling the protesters and managing the problems caused by the strikes.
Hundreds of city police and military personnel were deployed to help guard or drive the minibuses, which have been left by their drivers. Along with personnel from the City Traffic and Land Transportation Agency (DLLAJ-DKI), they were also assigned to change routes of available operating buses depending upon the passengers' needs.
No review
Meanwhile, the authorities stuck to their guns, saying that they would not review the new fine scale. The new fines are much higher than the previous scale and were the cause of the minibus drivers' strike.
The government will not revoke the new fine scale although the protesters planned to continue striking, Minister of Transportation Haryanto Dhanutirto insisted.
The police, however, have yet to disclose the fate of 35 protesters, consisting of drivers and unemployed, who have been incarcerated since Tuesday for further questioning about their role in the strikes.
According to Ratta, the city police are still questioning the 35 people.
The one-star general refused to comment on a report saying that the number of people in police custody had risen to 85 people as of Wednesday evening.
During a meeting with Governor Surjadi yesterday, President Soeharto also ordered the authority to take persuasive approach to the protesters.
"But those who are found guilty of subversive activities, such as throwing stones or threatening other drivers to stop operating their vehicles, must face the law," the President was quoted by Surjadi as saying.
Meanwhile, Minister Haryanto insisted that his office had no plan to revoke the licenses of any transportation firms in related with the strikes.
Expressing concern over the strike, which had disturbed the public order, Minister of Justice Oetojo Oesman said drivers who incited the others to go on strike deserved punishment.
He said that both authorities and drivers should improve their legal awareness.
Zumrotin K. Soesilo, chairwoman of the Indonesian Consumer Foundation, supported the government's decision to discipline drivers, but added that the driver felt that they were not being dealt with fairly.
"They think, 'Why do these police and official from the DLLAJ go by without sanction, while acting as illegal brokers of drivers' licenses and route permits, while drivers have to pay Rp 150,000 for violations?,'" Soesilo said.
"We are optimistic that violating drivers will feel obliged to pay fines if they see a higher level of professionalism from officials," she said. (bsr/yns/anr/sim)