Besides complaining about the traffic, it sometimes feels like the number one hobby of most Jakartans is throwing their garbage wherever the hell they want. What would it take to get Jakartans to stop littering so much?
Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama thinks the answer is simple. Make them pay. A lot.
“If you are caught littering, you should be subject to a fine amounting to one month of the minimum wage [currently Rp 3.1 million], for example. If you are caught several times, you should face fines up to Rp 5 million. That would be a deterrent,” Ahok said as quoted by Vivanews.
Unfortunately the governor was speaking largely theoretically. He was talking to reporters about his frustration over the current system for fining littering. Litterbugs currently face Rp 500,000 fines if they are caught, but such tickets are rarely handed out. Those who do receive tickets are required to show up to court and wait in an extremely long line to pay their fines, which obviously is an even rarer occurrence.
Ahok said the capital should emulate Singapore’s system, in which the fine is sent to the litterbug’s home address and they can face further fines if it is not paid on time. But he said that current laws prevent such a system from happening here, so he hoped that legislators would amend the regulations in the near future.
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