Sutiyoso befuddled by 'bajaj, Kancils

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Local-made Kancil (four-wheeled motorized vehicles) and Indian- made bajaj (three-wheeled vehicles) are competing for their place on Jakarta's streets, while Governor Sutiyoso struggles to make up his mind on the issue.

"This problem really confuses me. Kancil producers told me that the majority of bajaj drivers supported the program but now the drivers are protesting Kancil," Sutiyoso told reporters at the City Hall on Thursday.

Sutiyoso, however, expressed his hope that the relevant parties could meet to resolve the problem and added that the city administration was ready to facilitate the meeting.

"I decided on Kancil because they (Kancil producers) said that the income of bajaj drivers would be better," Sutiyoso said.

On July 31, Sutiyoso met with Kresna Didjaya of PT. Kancil Automotive Marketing Industries who claimed that the majority of 14,000 bajaj drivers were ready to shift to Kancil.

To convince Sutiyoso, Kresna brought dozens of bajaj drivers along to the meeting.

After the meeting, Sutiyoso said he could accept the operation of Kancil in the city on the proviso that for every Kancil in operation one bajaj must be destroyed.

"My target is to terminate bajaj when Kancil are launched," Sutiyoso pledged.

But, on Wednesday some 300 bajaj drivers demonstrated in front of the City Council building on Jl. Kebon Sirih, Central Jakarta to reject the plans to replace their vehicles with Kancil.

They said that their income of up to Rp 60,000 (US$7) a day would drop if they shifted to Kancils since they would have to rent Kancils for Rp 50,000 a day.

They also said the price of Kancil at Rp 34 million was too expensive if compared with bajaj at Rp 15 million.