Palu allows traffic chaos for security

PALU, Central Sulawesi: Hendro Surahmat, a senior official at Palu municipality administration, said on Wednesday that his office had canceled regular ticketing for traffic violations during the 7-month election period for security reasons.

He said that traffic monitoring had been stopped since March and it would resume at least one week after the second round of presidential election in late September.

He argued that his decision had strong grounds, because during the election, the political situation in the area is extra tense, so to relieve some of that tension it would be better to allow motorists to break the law.

If we wrote tickets, it would fuel more tension in the area, he explained.

From January 1 to March 10, the traffic department ticketed 234 motorists, 112 private drivers and 73 public transportation drivers. -- JP