Unpopular Jokowi’s Letter on Cheap Car to Vice President

Jokowi, the popular Jakarta Governor sent a letter to Vice President calling for the postponement for the sales of the low-cost green car (LCGC) in Jakarta. E.E. Mangindaan, the Minister of Transportation, wanted that the LCGC program should be carried out in line with the road infrastructure availability in the country. “The number of cheap cars should not be excessive because the infrastructure is not yet sufficient”, said he.

One may consider such a letter and statement as controversial. Most of the reasons that the opponents of the LCGC program have put forward are related to traffic problems. They show their worry that the traffic in the big cities will be stagnant as the infrastructures that are available would not be able to afford the additional LCGC.

But Jakarta does not reflect the image of Indonesia. In many small cities in the country, one may count with his fingers the vehicles that run on the road. After twilight, the roads in those cities are almost deserted. Obviously, the LCGCs are suitable for such cities. The LCGC is classified as the one which consumes one liter for 28 kilometer-distance, has 60 percent local content and the selling price below Rp 75 million  (US $6,800). Just a couple days after launching, almost 18,000 cheap cars have been sold out where most the buyers are those who live in Jakarta and nearby cities.

Low and middle-class people are eager to buy such cars as they cannot afford to buy a normal car which price beyond their purchasing power and buy motorcycles instead. Now having such a low price car available, some of them may convert from riding motorcycles to cheap cars. The haves may also buy the car as a second [or higher] vehicle especially for their kids.

The number of cars in Indonesia compared to its population is among the lowest in the world around one car for 40 people, compared that of the developed countries which ratio is 1:3. The availability of the LCGC will certainly increase the car population in Indonesia. Huge investment up to US$ 3.5 billion is required and it might absorb thousands of workers to fabricate the cars.

Definitely the LCGC mass productions will give a positive impact on the country economy as they improve the quality of the private transportation mode in term of fuel saving, transportation efficiency as compared to bigger and expensive cars, the condition of transportation mode especially for those using motorcycles and, last but not least, the environment.

However, a big controversy has arisen as the government launches the beginning of the mass production of LCGC. Isn’t that the people car (“mobil rakyat”) that the country is longing for? The car which is not exclusively for the haves but also for middle and lower class? Of course, to become a national people car, it is hoped that at the latest stage the local content would be close to 100 percent.

How come that we should against the relatively poor people for having a little comfort by possessing LCGC replacing their motorcycles in favor of the relatively rich people enjoying their “luxury” cars? Shouldn't we have the opposite standpoint by encouraging people to have LCGC as it gives so many benefits for the low income people?

Mr. Governor, we understood of your apprehension on the Jakarta traffic jams as they are already aggravated. But don’t you consider to impose the luxury car (more than 3000 ccs) usage limitation, by for example allowing them to circulate only beyond the office time instead of limiting the LCGC? Or more radically proposing to limit the production of the 3000 cc-cars or higher rather than that of LCGC?

The postponement of the cheap car mass productions will be a blunder as it will cause Indonesia to suffer a big loss, as by 2015 any ASEAN countries under AFTA can easily export their cheap cars into their neighboring countries. They have kept eyes to take any opportunities to inundate their cheap cars here and certainly will establish their sole agents in our country for selling their home-made cheap car. 

Enhancing the Railway Transportation, Better Late than Never

Looking at the railway transportation in Indonesia always gives us a negative perception of the poor undertaking. People always associate this mode of transportation with the bad image of illegal ragged shelters covering the railway banks and semi-legal stalls occupy the station platform and parking lots. Crowded passengers squatting on the top of the carriages worsen the already bleak image, which by any standard violates the very basic safety rules. 

The problem is so eye-catching and persistent. Why? The root of the problem should not come from the railway mismanagement alone, but largely from the public attitude that the public service should be cheap no matter how big is the operation cost of the related service. Probably there is still residual mindset among Indonesian people that in the independence era, people are free and should not pay or pay very little for the public services they need.

And what consequences we get from this misleading belief? The railway situations in the country become degrading because of significant reduction of the length of the railway tracks as a result of dismantlement almost all side tracks preserving only the main tracks along Java island and little parts in Sumatra. Barely new tracks and new stations have been built in the country since the independence day.

The main cause of this gloomy situation is clearly triggered by the imbalanced competition between railway transportation versus car transportation. However, society’s wrong attitude that train tariff should be very cheap worsen the situation. The tariffs which are far lower than the operating cost cause the railway company hardly capable of replacing any broken components forcing the management to sacrifice the passenger comfort and the image of such mode of transportation.

The situation makes many officers who is responsible to handle the operation lose their innovative spirit. The railway business environment in the country is so degraded that it becomes a public secret that many railway employees feel at ease dealing with the stalls and the shelter's owners to gain some regular petty cash as though their behavior is a normal one.

Such tattered picture of the railway conditions has dragged on for years, part because of imbalance between cheap ticket policy versus government subsidies. This pro-poor attitude is the right policy put in the wrong place. The tariffs plus the government subsidy should be enough to meet, at least, the operational cost and if possible to improve and develop the carriage armada and the station conditions.

Enough is enough. Even a public service such as railway business requires modern management and ambitious, dynamic and innovative leadership. Good examples could be drawn from quite successful public services such as post office, state-owned pawn shops and in larger scale Garuda air carrier. Under the current action that railway management has taken, it seems that our wish to have better public transportation will come true.

Various efforts have been taken to eliminate illegal passengers sitting on the roof of the carriage though resistance still can be found here and there. Even at certain spot, the railway entrance gates with electric wire are erected so that people don’t dare to sit on the carriage roof.

Railway officers have managed to demolish kiosks at the station platforms and parking lots, especially those in big cities. The bigger step is still needed, however, to demolish shelters constructed along the rails, as they might endanger the railway passage.  

The implementation of E-ticket system is certainly a big leap in modernizing Indonesian railway. The board of management realizes that under the condition where many passengers have no tickets or holding used tickets have put the company into a big loss. The crowded carriages worsen the condition where conductors are impossible to execute their duties to check all passengers' tickets.

But now, under E-ticket system passengers can only enter the entrance gate or get out of the exit gate by introducing the ticket on or into card-reader installed in the gates guaranteeing that all passengers have a ticket with them.

With the use of E-ticket, it can easily accommodate the progressive tariff as a function of voyage distance which is fairer and more economical for the passengers. The passengers who don’t want to have a long queue, multi-trip E-tickets which last for months are also available.

The train management has set electronic means at 63 stations in Jabodetabek (Jakarta, Bogor, Depok and Tangerang). In the first days of its implementation, many passengers are not accustomed yet to the new system causing long queues before the entrance gates. However, we believe that people will be very quick to adopt  such an E-ticket system as it has long been implemented in many countries without a problem.

Congratulation, it is better too late than never!

Monorail, an Ever Changing Project

Jakarta people are tired with the daily traffic jams that they have to face. The number of cars and motorcycles which crowd the roads are increasing significantly from time to time. Meanwhile, the length of the roads and public transportation armada are stagnant. The city government seems helpless unless they find some innovative ways to develop a revolutionary mode of transportation. 

   

However, the alternatives are costly especially when it comes to taking the monorail as the public mass transportation. Never on the world that a project underwent so much changing which took 12 years to truly begin. It was in 2001 that the Central government through the Ministry of State Owned Companies and city government agreed to establish a project consortium called PT Indonesia Transit Central (ITC) headed by PT Adhi Karya.

After three years of conducting a feasibility study, ITC started to construct the monorail poles which were inaugurated by President Megawati on June 2004 but was postponed only after several weeks on the go. In 2005, the project then was given to a consortium consisting of PT Jakarta Monorail and Omnico a Singapore company which provided Adhi Karya 45 percent shares. However, as Omnico didn't provide enough capital the project failed to proceed.  

Early this year, after it halted for years,  Joko Widodo, the new city governor, confirmed that the monorail project would be continued under Jakarta Monorail management. Adhi Karya declined to join and offered instead a proposal to Jakarta government to build other monorail projects with different routes.

The Jakarta Monorail had two options of co-operation with the third party namely Hadji Kalla Group and Ortus Group. The latter was preferred as they offered better option investing Rp12 trillion without any financial support from national or city budgets and willing to pay Rp204 billion to Adhi Karya as the compensation for their previous monorail pole constructions. 

The monorail will cover two main routes: Kampung Melayu-Tebet-Kuningan-Casablanca-Tanah Abang-Roxy-Taman Anggrek (West Jakarta) with the extension to the east from Pondok Kelapa-Sentral East Jakarta and to the west from Puri Indah. Meanwhile the second line starts from Kuningan-Duku Atas-Pejompongan-Senayan-Gatot Subroto-and back to Kuningan.

As the monorail project is funded by private corporations, the transportation tariff will fully depend on the amount of the investment and the operating cost. However, city residents have their option to select which one of the modes of transportation suitable most for them. With regards to their purchasing power, they may choose the cheapest mode of transportation but sacrificing the comfort or more expensive luxury transportation whether monorail, busway, ordinary buses or else. 

As long as all options are available and people have various alternatives to choose there will be no problem for city residents to make up their minds said Jokowi.

Jokowi, the Jakarta Controversial Governor

Who is now the top news-maker in Indonesia? Many people will answer almost unanimously: “Jokowi”. Joko Widodo, the full name of Jokowi now the Jakarta governor, does indeed attract so many people, not only in Jakarta but the whole country. He was awarded as the world third best mayor by the England-based City Mayors Foundation, after Bilbao City Mayor, Spain, and Perth City Mayor, Australia, due to his outstanding achievement when he was the Solo city mayor. 

As a new metropolitan governor, his humble behavior doesn’t change as he was to be as Solo city mayor. He had done "grubby" things that no other bureaucrats of the same level want to do. He likes to go down to earth directly to the core of the problems, instead of staying in the luxury office doing notional things. He didn’t have any burden to walk around in the slum areas or the illegal site of sidewalk traders and picking up the first-hand information for the sake of having better city condition. 

The improvement of the city and the socio-economic conditions of his people were not his only concern. Even he put his hand on the construction of the car by the local Vocational High School students, the deed that actually should be taken by higher-ranking decision-makers.

No wonder that he easily gained votes in all Jakarta municipalities except in Thousand Islands defeating the incumbent governor, Dr. Fauzi Bowo. Even low-income families living along the railway tracks and river banks welcome him. They know though that Jokowi may dismantle their illegal huts hoping to get better resettlement in new plain cluster houses that Jokowi promises to build in the nearby areas. 

To implement his working program, Jokowi is very firm, as he doesn’t like his subordinates to have business as usual and indifferently doing their duties inspirited. Fortunately, he is supported by Basuki Purnama, his deputy, who is also pragmatic as himself whom he assigns to deal with administrative works. Basuki, whose nickname Ahok, under the auspice of Jokowi, imposes his subordinates to set up more efficient municipal work program and budget, review the cost of mega-projects and make use of the excess budget for coping the acute traffic jam and seasonal flood problems. 

As Basuki handles most of the office works, Jokowi can concentrate to take in his “hobby” making incognito tours surprising many of his district heads. During one of his unexpected abrupt tours in Marunda, North Jakarta, he was surprised to find that many cluster houses intended for low-income families were still half empty. As the rented cost was relatively cheap there must be something tricky that his subordinates may gain illegal profit for themselves. 

The intermediaries are used to sneaky around offering people to get the accommodation inside cluster houses but with some extra handsome ransom. The head of city housing program soon resigned or otherwise be fired as he deceived people telling that nobody from the slum areas was eager to move to the cluster houses. 

To cope with the latent traffic jam, Jokowi proposed to impose the alternate restriction in certain roads on cars having even-or-odd plate number replacing the three-in-one regulation. As expected, there are pros and cons to this new idea drawing president’s attention asking for a careful study before putting it into effect. 

On top of his priority to expand the busway armada, he cautiously reconsiders the existing mega-project plans among others mono-rails, fly-over, city toll-road sections and new proposal on multi-function tunnel designed for coping with both water flooding and traffic problems.

One of the flagship programs of the governor is the free Jakarta Health Cards. Coinciding with National Heroes Day, Jokowi launched the cards in some districts marking the beginning of the card distribution to all Jakarta citizens, rich and poor, hoping that only poor people numbering to 4.7 million will really want to take the benefit of it.

Unfortunately, his goodwill was shadowed by heavy floods taking place during his first 100-working days which inundated the whole city, the presidential palace included, which forced him to intensify his abrupt visits to various places in the city searching for a future better solution. 

Dear Mr. Governor, welcome and good luck!