TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Residents of the capital city caught littering will be hit with a fine, said DKI Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo, a threat he warns the public not to take likely.
"There is the law, Bylaw No. 3/2013 on trash management," said the governor on Thursday.
The bylaw states that residents caught littering must pay a fine of Rp500,000 while companies could be hit with a fine of up to Rp50 million.
Jokowi, the governor’s nickname, said that trash is the number one enemy of the people when facing floods. He said it is meaningless for the city to place efforts in cleaning up rivers and dredging reservoirs if society’s behavior in littering does not change.
Chief of Jakarta’s Sanitation Agency, Unu Nurdin, said this fine would be implemented in the beginning of next year by involving the Public Order Agency and Indonesian National Army. He added it would be difficult to immediately implement this bylaw because it will take a while to inform the public on the new regulation and help them understand.
SYAILENDRA