Power-holders sweat it out in energy cuts
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.