Tough punishments for people who litter

After having traveled recently to Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok, I am asking myself: Why is Jakarta the only city of the four where trash is found virtually everywhere, in residential areas, along busy streets, in parks, in rivers and so on.

Nowhere else have I seen so many people littering and burning waste.

I ask myself, why is a government so concerned with trying to punish kissing in public, when people can throw their water bottles and other waste anywhere as they please, without any threat from officials.

I think Jakarta urgently needs to enforce strict laws on littering. Tough punishments have to be imposed on people who litter! In Singapore, as we know, caning and fines are imposed, while in Bangkok the penalty for littering is a fine of about US$50. What keeps the Indonesian authorities from imposing and enforcing this kind of regulation? Or is littering and burning waste considered a protectable human right?

JOACHIM HARTMANN, Jakarta