Police Traffic Commander Ensures State Serves Mudik Travellers: Duty is Honour
Indonesia’s National Traffic Police (Korlantas Polri) has declared complete readiness to oversee the Eid exodus and return traffic for 2026. National Traffic Police Commander Lieutenant General Agus Suryonugroho emphasised that all personnel would provide the best service to the public with a principle of service without limits.
“Duty is honour and we must not tire because this is a mandate we must fulfil. The police presence on the road is not merely to regulate, but to ensure safe travel to destination. If necessary, we arrive early and return last,” said Lt Gen Agus during the NTMC Podcast presented by Brigadier Ecklesia and Brigadier Ananda Rafi on Wednesday, 11 March 2026.
Operation Ketupat 2026 carries the tagline “Safe Mudik, Happy Family” in accordance with instructions from National Police Chief General Listyo Sigit Prabowo. Lt Gen Agus identified five main security clusters, ranging from toll roads, arterial routes, ferries, places of worship, to tourist destinations.
Lt Gen Agus explained that this year’s operation represents the outcome of deep evaluation of 2025 data. He emphasised that field decisions, such as implementing one-way systems or contraflow arrangements, would be based on precise traffic-counting technology calculations, no longer merely manual predictions.
“To achieve traffic safety and order, this is not merely prediction or guesswork, but using infrastructure technology. One example is Precision ETLE Drone and Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) Drone. Traffic engineering decisions are based on technology parameters,” he explained.
Lt Gen Agus provided a technical simulation example. If the monitored vehicle count reaches 5,500 per hour on toll roads, then one-lane contraflow will be immediately activated. If the figure increases to 6,400 vehicles per hour, the contraflow lane will be expanded.
Learning from last year’s constraints, Korlantas has made changes to engineering points on toll routes. Whereas previously congestion occurred at Kilometre 188, this year the one-way scenario will be extended to Kilometre 236 Pejagan to more effectively address potential bottlenecks.
Meanwhile, for ferry routes such as Merak-Bakauheni, the police have prepared a delay system and buffer zones in parking pockets and rest areas at Kilometres 43 and 64 should extreme weather conditions occur at the port.
“The port management system is now much improved. Ticketing is now well-organised on a regular basis to accelerate vehicle distribution,” added Lt Gen Agus. He emphasised that synergy and collaboration with stakeholders remain tight for the success of Operation Ketupat 2026.
Interestingly, Korlantas has also adopted a humanitarian approach to convey safety messages through a song titled “Orderly Mudik, Don’t Rush”. This step was taken so that police appeals are more readily accepted by the wider public, including younger generations.
“Dreams must be followed by ways of thinking, then followed by planning. That planning is the key to success. We want people to mudik with joy, depart safely, arrive at their destination safely and happily,” he said.
Finally, Lt Gen Agus reminded the public to utilise work-from-anywhere (WFA) policies to distribute traffic density, as well as to use police assistance services at the 110 hotline which operates round-the-clock during the mudik and return period.