Vehicle inspections for owners' good: Police

JAKARTA (JP): A proposed requirement that police physically inspect vehicles before issuing renewals of registration documents has sparked a new controversy.

Police deputy chief of operational affairs Maj. Gen. M.B. Hutagalung defended the police initiative yesterday, saying the scheme would be "for the good of the (vehicles') owners".

"It is to avoid falsification of serial numbers on engines and chassis, especially where there has been a change of ownership," Hutagalung said, as quoted by the Antara news agency.

"Without regular inspections, it is difficult for the police to monitor the identity of a vehicle. So (vehicle inspections) are a precautionary measure taken for the vehicle owners' good," he said.

The new policy is contained in a decree issued by the National Police chief.

The plan came under fire in the House of Representatives last week during a hearing between legislators and Minister of Transportation Haryanto Dhanutirto.

Under the existing procedures, vehicle owners who want to renew their vehicles' registration are required to produce only the current documents and identity cards.

People are required to bring along their vehicles for physical check only if they intend to transfer ownership in the vehicle or if they are reporting the loss of their registration documents.

Legislators said that the police chief's decree was in violation of a 1992 traffic law and a 1993 lower government regulation on traffic.

They expressed concern that the new procedure would meet with opposition from the public because it would lengthen bureaucratic procedures, which are already notoriously arduous.

Separately, Director for Traffic Brig. Gen. Sumarsono concurred with Hutagalung that the new policy was aimed at minimizing forgery of vehicle registration documents.

He said that, without physical checks, there were numerous opportunities for people to replace the engines and chassis of their vehicles with other and better models, thereby evading higher taxes to which they would otherwise be liable.

"It is possible that dishonest people re-register their vehicles every year but that they have, in fact, illegally replaced the vital components," he said. "If that happens, who should be blamed?"

The police, who manage payment of vehicle taxes along with the local administration, have been ducking for cover as legislators and the public alike attack them for failing to simplify the procedures involved in vehicle registration.

For example, the police have insisted on retaining their policy of requiring vehicles to be re-registered every year, whereas the House of Representatives has repeatedly called for re-registration to be carried out once every five years. (pan)