President Jokowi Pins Recent Ship Sinking on Human Negligence

TEMPO.CO, Makassar - Responding to the recent sinking of KM Lestari Maju ferry ship, President Joko ‘Jokowi’ Widodo said that there are other factors apart from bad weather that can be blamed for the recent incidents on water.

“It’s generally caused by undisciplined services by people that should be responsible for [a transport’s] safety on sea,” said Jokowi to mass-media leaders at the Lanud Hasanuddin Airport in Makassar, South Sulawesi, on Tuesday.

Read also: 139 Survivors, 29 Dead after Ferry Ship Sinks in Selayar Islands

Jokowi explained that there are many factors that need fixing, in regards of Indonesia’s sailing activities in general, such as the existence of a passenger manifest, availability of lifeboats, and other supporting factors that still lack.

The president gave an example of the Lake Toba tragedy where a traditional ferry boat capsized into the bottom the lake together with most of its passengers. Jokowi argued that it is partially caused by the weak supervising conducted by local Officials.

“This made the region’s head of transportation board be named a suspect who is responsible for the tragedy,” said the seventh Indonesian president.

The president further expressed his regret upon the recent tragedies on water and urged the Transportation Ministry to coordinate its efforts with regional transportation boards and together take responsibility of passenger’s safety and sailing in general.

ANTARA