The wRap Indonesia: Nov. 25, 2014

JAKARTA, Indonesia — The central government slashes official travel budgets, President Jokowi goes on another blusukan this week, and the Jakarta administration aims to get your IDs repealed if you litter during the rainy season. 

1. Budget for official trips and meetings slashed by 40%

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo said on Monday, November 24, that he would slash the budget for official trips and meetings by 40 percent and re-allocate the funds for rural developments. “The budget for official trips and meetings stands at 41 trillion rupiah [$3.4 billion], and I’ve instructed to bring this down to 25 trillion rupiah,” Jokowi said during a meeting with the country’s 34 governors in Jakarta, as quoted by Kompas.com. The move is the latest in a series of cost-cutting measures that Jokowi administration has implemented in his first month in office. Bureaucratic Reform and State Apparatus Minister Yuddy Chrisnandi earlier has barred all public officials from holding meetings in hotels. He said that by not holding meetings in hotels, the state would be able to save up to 20% of its budget. The new effort, which would affect all ministries, provincial administrations, and regencies, will be officially take effect December 1.

2. Jokowi goes blusukan to monitor haze in Riau

Jokowi is expected to visit Riau province in Sumatera island on Wednesday, November 26, to monitor the land and forest first that have been recurrently causing haze and sour the country’s relationships with neighbouring countries, particularly Singapore and Malaysia. During the official trip, Jokowi will conduct “blusukan”, or an informal visit, to a local market where he will directly meet with farmers and haze victims. A week after his inauguration on October 20, a local in Riau has petitioned Jokowi to visit the smoke-filled province to take concrete actions against the forest fires. The petition has since garnered almost 30,000 signatures on change.org and is supported by the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi), Greenpeace, environmental activist Abetnego Tarigan, and TV personality Wimar Witoelar. 

3. Public transport fares to rise Tuesday

Following the recent fuel price increase, Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama on Monday has signed a gubernatorial decree on public transportation tariffs. The new public transportation fees will be put into effect Tuesday, November 25. The fee will go up by 1,000 rupiah (80 cents), as suggested by the Land Transportation Organization. The new 4,000 rupiah tariff is only applicable for economy-class public transports, as Organda has not decided on the price for non-economy public transports. Full story on BeritaJakarta.com. 

4. Jokowi forbids Cabinet members to attend House meetings 

Jokowi has prohibited his Cabinet ministers from attending meetings with the House of Representatives (DPR) lawmakers. He said his ministers could attend House meetings only after the House settled its own internal problems. The DPR is currently split into two groups: Jokowi-backed Koalisi Indonesia Hebat (Great Indonesia Coalition) and Koalisi Merah Putih (Red-and-White Coalition) which supported losing presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto. “[We will attend the meetings] if conflicts at the House have been settled. Moreover, we have been working only for one month, so for what purpose should they invite us?” said Jokowi as quoted by the Jakarta Post. Previously, State-Owned Enterprises Minister Rini Soemarno has sent a letter to the House dated November 20, to not invite its ministry’s officials to attend any session as a temporary measure. 18 lawmakers from the Koalisi Merah Putih on Monday has summoned Jokowi ministers to explain the recent fuel increase, which, according to them, is not pro-poor people.  

5. If you litter, your ID might be revoked

In an attempt to prevent floodings in the capital during rainy season, the Jakarta administration will strictly enforce Bylaw No.3/2013 on waste management. According to Jakarta city secretary, Saefullah, the provincial government will revoke the identity cards of those who litter nearby the Ciliwung river. “There are 178 sites alongside Ciliwung River that stretches from East Jakarta to South Jakarta. If a person is caught littering once, we will fine them. If more, we will revoke their IDs,” Saefullah said. However, there are still no details on how exactly the government would monitor the littering. But the bylaw says that if a person is caught littering, he will be fined 500,000 rupiah ($41). Read more on BeritaJakarta.com. —Rappler.com