Power-holders sweat it out in energy cuts
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta/Medan/Semarang
There was something missing in the presidential office on Monday: the sight of people wearing dark suits.
From presidential guards, press officers, presidential spokesman Dino Patti Djalal, Minister of Mines and Energy Purnomo Yusgiantoro and President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, all traded in their suits for casual shirts and slacks.
The move by the President, who wore a short-sleeved batik shirt, and other officials were apparently intended to set an example for Indonesian people to support the government-led energy conservation campaign.
The national campaign follows the recent issuance of Presidential Decree No. 10/2005 on energy conservation.
Apart from changing the official attire, the presidential office has also started to reduce power consumption from air conditioners. The temperature in the press room was increased to 28 degrees Celsius from the normal temperature of as low as 16 degrees.
The outside temperature in Jakarta usually hits between 30 and 34 degrees Celsius in the afternoons.
Similarly, Vice President Jusuf Kalla, 16 ministers and high- ranking officials had also discarded their suits, while attending a meeting on economic affairs at Kalla's office. They wore either polo shirts, safari suits or batik shirts.
However, the temperature in the room, where the meeting was held, was still too cold for most of the journalists.
Unfortunately, not all state officials responded to the presidential instruction.
The Ministry of Religious Affairs still had its thermostat set quite low. During a news conference at the ministry on Jl. Lapangan Banteng located near the presidential office, journalists still felt cold, the detik.com news portal reported.
Minister of Religious Affairs M. Maftuh Basyuni and acting Director General of Islamic guidance and haj management Slamet Riyanto may not have been affected by the low temperature of the room as they both wore suits.
Also, the office of the finance ministry, which is located next to the office of the religious affairs ministry, was yet to comply fully with the presidential instruction on energy conservation.
Susilo has also asked his presidential guards to reduce the number of vehicles used for convoys of the President and Vice President.
"The number of motorbikes and cars must be reduced, so we will be able to contribute to the energy conservation efforts," he said.
The President called on wealthier citizens to "reduce a little of their comfort" to help make the power conservation campaign a success.
"People, who have been living in hardship, do not have to save (energy) as they have already been saving it. I thank them for that," Susilo said.
In Medan, North Sumatra Governor Rizal Nurdin instructed all of his subordinates to join the national energy conservation campaign, including a ban on the use of air conditioners on Fridays and limiting the use of official cars.
He said that he had made the call a long time ago, before the issuance of the presidential decree.
Local residents, however, continued to be inconvenienced the fuel shortage. Most went from one gasoline station to another to fill up their tanks, to no avail.
In Semarang, the capital of Central Java, Governor Mardiyanto canceled a major motorbike rally scheduled to take place in the province.
He also ordered his subordinates to limit the use of official and private sedans, asking them to travel in groups either by minivans or buses.
The governor also suggested that local officials use public transportation instead of private vehicles to go to work.
The presidential decree was issued during a Cabinet meeting on Sunday, which was also attended by governors from all provinces throughout the country.