Transportation operators pay Rp 11t in illegal fees
Transportation operators pay Rp 11t in illegal fees
Rendi A. Witular, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Illegal fees collected by transportation agency officials, police officers, soldiers and street thugs nationwide -- which account for 30 percent of public transportation operators' operational costs -- reach up to Rp 11 trillion (US$1.17 billion) per year.
The Organization of Land Transportation Owners (Organda) revealed the chronic practice, which shows no sign of abating, on Wednesday after meeting with Vice President Jusuf Kalla to report the problem.
"We reported the problem to the Vice President. He promised to deal with it and discussed it specifically with related institutions," said Organda chairman Murphy Hutagalung.
Organda estimated the massive illegal fees from the average payment some 10 million public buses and public minivans made to extorting officials. The daily illegal fees paid by the public transportation crews is about Rp 7,500 per vehicle.
In big cities like Jakarta, a bus crew must pay between Rp 30,000 and Rp 50,000 per day to officers and thugs.
If spent for the public, Murphy said, the illegal fees could help revitalize the country's transportation industry and provide better service to the public and higher income for their drivers and conductors and state revenue in the form of taxes.
Most of the country's public transportation vehicles are in a poor condition and are not roadworthy because of a lack of maintenance due to the high cost of spare parts.
Illegal fees has become the bane of the business community, especially foreign investors, since it has created a high-cost economy and reduced the competitiveness of the country's products in the overseas market.
Nine months after President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono took over the presidency, there is no sign that the practice is declining with security officers allegedly becoming more aggressive in extorting businessmen to offset their low salary.
Organda cited roads along the Sumatra and Java coasts as a haven for extortion by hoodlums and security officers.