Postpone sticker plan until crisis end: Golkar

JAKARTA (JP): The Golkar faction in the House of Representatives added yesterday to mounting pressure on the city administration to shelve plans to introduce a traffic sticker system.

Meanwhile, the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH) demanded that President Soeharto rescind the decree he issued earlier this month which endorsed the controversial plan.

Golkar faction chief Irsyad Sudiro suggested that Governor Sutiyoso postpone the scheme, which is scheduled to be tested between August and November, until the crippling economic crisis comes to an end.

"It would be inappropriate to further burden people who are already weighted down by the crisis," he said. "Remember, not all motorists entering the restricted zone are rich."

Plans to introduce the controversial system were put into motion following Presidential Decree No. 50, 1998, on the restricted traffic area in the city, and the 1998 Government Regulation No. 45 on regional levies.

The sticker system would require people wanting to travel along Jl. M.H. Thamrin and Jl. Jend. Sudirman between 7:30 a.m. and 9:30 a.m., and between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. on week days to pay Rp 5,000 (60 U.S. cents) for a one-day entry sticker, or Rp 80,000 for a one month pass.

The system is intended to help alleviate chronic traffic congestion in the city center and will replace the current three- in-one traffic regulation which was introduced in 1992.

The three-in-one system, which requires private cars entering the restricted zone at peak times to contain at least three people, is considered to have been ineffective in dealing with the city's traffic problem.

Irsyad said the city administration's determination to press on with the new system despite strong public objections showed that the governor was uncertain about how best to deal with traffic congestion in Jakarta.

Minister of Communications Giri Suseno Hadihardjono should explain the plan to the House and guarantee its effectiveness, he said.

"If it's only designed to collect money, the plan should be scrapped because not all motorists can afford to buy the stickers," he said, as quoted by Antara.

Giri proposed on Wednesday that Sutiyoso consider a compromise solution where only cars carrying less than three people have to buy a sticker.

Both Golkar and the institute agree that the administration is prevented by law from collecting levies on non-toll roads like Jl. Thamrin and Jl. Sudirman.

On a separate occasion, the institute's Jakarta director Apong Herlina proposed that President Soeharto revoke his decree because the public was strongly opposed to the sticker system.

Besides, she said, the laws on which the President based his decree were designed to regulate the city administration's income generating activities, not to deal with traffic congestion.

Apong argued that requiring motorists to purchase stickers to enter the city center was tantamount to charging levies on a non- toll road, a practice which is clearly illegal under the provisions of Law No. 14, 1992 ,on traffic and land transportation.

"The law stipulates that everybody can use roads free of charge unless the roads are designated toll roads," she said.

"The President should therefore rescind his decree out of respect for the law."

The institute plans to ask the Supreme Court to conduct a judicial review of the disputed Presidential decree and rule on whether or not it contradicts the existing law. (ind)