Smoking continues at city offices

Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

From an initial six-month trial, it seems any hope of stamping out smoking in buildings across the city may be nothing more than a pipe dream.

The trial, initiated by the administration of Governor Sutiyoso, has been anything but a success, raising serious questions about the ability to enforce the bylaw on air pollution that is expected to come into effect early next year.

Throughout the six-month trial, employees at City Hall and the City Council building continued to smoke inside the buildings, although not quite as often as before Sutiyoso gave his order to make city offices smoke-free zones last February.

Many employees simply adjourned to the toilet when they felt the need to light up.

The small smoking room at City Hall was a much less popular location at which to enjoy a cigarette.

Sutiyoso acknowledged that many city employees seemed not to have gotten the message about not smoking in government buildings.

"I will summon the head of the City Environmental Management Agency (BPLHD) for an explanation, since the message about the bylaw does not seemed to have reached people," the governor said, referring to Kosasih Wirahadikusumah.

Sutiyoso said the BPLHD was in charge of educating people about Bylaw No. 2/2005 on air pollution control, which the City Council passed in February.

The bylaw does not only ban people from puffing away at city offices, but prohibits smoking in all public places, including aboard public transportation vehicles.

In the hope of setting an example for Jakartans, Sutiyoso decided to speed up the implementation of the bylaw for city employees by six months. A gubernatorial decree issued by Sutiyoso states that city offices will fully implement the bylaw in September.

When the authorities begin to enforce the legislation, anyone caught smoking in a public place can face a Rp 50 million fine or six months in prison.

No one seen smoking in city offices for the last six months was punished.

Kosasih of the BPLHD could not be reached for comment on Saturday.