Motorist told to drive properly during APEC
JAKARTA (JP): The authorities told Jakartans yesterday not to use their own vehicles during the upcoming APEC meeting and to behave themselves if they had to drive in order to facilitate the movement of the delegates.
"There will be many traffic jams in the city because a large number of convoys will be transporting the delegations along major thoroughfares from the airport to their hotels and from the hotels to the conference venues," Governor Surjadi Soedirdja told reporters at City Hall yesterday.
Heads of state are expected to start arriving in the city on Nov. 13 to attend the APEC summit meeting in Bogor, West Java, on Nov. 15.
The governor said that reducing the frequency of use of privately owned vehicles will facilitate the mobility of the delegates, thereby creating a positive image of the capital.
In a related development, the Chief of the City Police Moch. Hindarto demanded yesterday that Jakarta motorists keep cool heads during the summit meeting.
"All motorists must control their emotions and refrain from driving recklessly for the sake of promoting the good image of our nation," he said.
He added that Jakartans should make a special point to abide by traffic regulations while the APEC delegates are here.
Governor Surjadi emphasized that a good image is very important for Jakarta as the center of the country's governmental affairs and economic activities.
"I realize the objective of popularizing the capital requires a lot of sacrifice from Jakartans," he said. He urged the public to understand the importance of doing their best to make the event a success.
Surjadi explained that convoys of delegations will be given top priority to use the main roads because they have tight schedules during the conference.
He said a lot of preparations have been made in the run-up to the event, including upgrading the cleanliness of the capital, as well as the implementing of security and public order plans.
He explained that all of this is intended to make all of the guests feel as comfortable as possible in the capital.
He made a specific point of reminding Jakartans to be more hospitable.
According to the governor, the city administration has allocated funds from its annual budget especially for beautifying the city for the event.
"I have asked businessmen to participate in the cleanliness drive by cleaning up their buildings, especially those along the main streets," he said.
He also urged the businessmen to take advantage of the meeting by making contacts with their overseas counterparts attending the summit.
Alternative routes
Hindarto said that many alternative routes will be made available for motorists in a bid to help reduce traffic flow along the main streets.
"Announcements regarding the new routes will be made soon and motorists are expected to make themselves aware of them," he said.
Meanwhile, the Jakarta Coordinating Agency for National Stability (Bakorstanasda) launched anti-riot training yesterday in an effort to improve coordination among related institutions ahead of the upcoming APEC meeting.
The training, which was held at the site of the defunct Kemayoran airport in Central Jakarta, was participated in by hundreds of officers from the Army, Navy and Air Force, as well as the National Police Force and municipal administration officials.
A number of military vehicles, cars equipped to spray tear gas and ambulances were deployed as part of the training program.
Brig. Gen. Wiranto, commander of the task force squad, said that the training is intended to evaluate to what extent the Bakorstanasda personnel have prepared themselves to deal with any possible riots during the APEC summit.
"This training is part of Bakostanasda's annual routine activities, which this time coincides with preparations for the APEC meeting," said Wiranto, who is also the chief of staff of the Jakarta Military Command.
The training session was also attended by Jakarta Police chief Hindarto on behalf of Jakarta's governor. Rear Admiral Arief Kushariyadi, the fleet chief for Indonesia's western region, Brig. Gen. Dibyo Widodo, the deputy chief of the city police and Deputy Governor Rusdi were also on hand. (yns/hhr)