Civil servants told to leave cars at home

JAKARTA. Governor Joko “Jokowi” Widodo started the new year by issuing an instruction stating that all civil servants must not drive to work on the first Friday of every month.

The new policy was stipulated in Gubernatorial Instruction No. 150/2013 on the use of public transportation for civil servants and city officials signed by Jokowi on Dec. 30.

The instruction will take effect on Friday.

“Starting Friday, I call on all officials and employees to take public transportation to the office and leave their cars, motorcycles or official vehicles at home,” Jokowi said in the gubernatorial instruction.

The policy, however, does not apply to people holding certain positions, such as those driving ambulances and those whose work is related to disaster mitigation, fire fighting, street patrols, waste management and other crucial public services.

“Those who violate the regulation will face sanctions in line with the law,” Jokowi said.