Transport council 'not going anywhere'

Damar Harsanto, Jakarta

Urban activists and transportation observers criticized the laggard establishment of the bylaw-sanctioned City Transportation Council amid concerns that high-cost transportation projects carried out by the administration this year remained unmonitored.

"I have a strong feeling that the city administration is not serious about the establishment of the council," Ahmad Safrudin, a transportation observer, told The Jakarta Post on Monday.

He also cited reports saying that the council's establishment had hit a snag, as the City Transportation Agency had not allocated any funds from the budget toward the recruitment of human resources and procurement of facilities for the council.

Ari Mohamad, a law and policy analyst of non-governmental organization Swisscontact that focuses on transportation affairs, and is helping to facilitate the establishment of the council, said the screening committee had completed drafting the terms and conditions for council member candidates.

"We are ready to advertise the information (about the terms and conditions) in print media. But we have to delay the plan until the transportation agency has disbursed funds," Ari told the Post.

The administration had said earlier it would complete revising the 2004 budget by the end of July or in early August, while Bylaw No. 12/2003 on city transportation set May as the deadline for the establishment of the transportation council.

Meanwhile, Azas Tigor Nainggolan of the Coalition of Jakartans for Transportation (Kawat) said he was reluctant to apply for a position on the 15-strong council, arguing that the bylaw gave Governor Sutiyoso authority to cut any candidates from the list who were considered opponents of his administration.

"I will not apply for the position. It is no use as Sutiyoso will definitely drop me from the list, although I meet the requirements," he said.

Tigor is known for his critical stance against Sutiyoso's aggressive policies, particularly those that have disadvantaged Jakarta residents, especially the poor.

The council's membership is open to transportation experts, scholars, non-governmental organization (NGO) activists, policemen, transportation agency officials and owners of public transportation companies under the bylaw.

Article 98 of the bylaw stipulates that the establishment of the council, its responsibilities and membership be regulated by gubernatorial decree.

The idea to establish the council was in 2001 amid concerns that many transportation policies had been determined solely by the Jakarta administration, such as the three-in-one traffic policy, and the busway and monorail projects.

Many Jakartans and transportation experts have said these measures had failed to accommodate the people's demands for a comfortable and reliable public transportation system.