TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Vice President Jusuf Kalla has challenged Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan and people living in the capital to help reduce severe air pollution. Kalla made the statement in response to the evaluation of air quality forecaster AirVisual that tapped Jakarta as the world’s worst polluted city.

“The air quality is bad because of motorized vehicles that link to congestion and the people who use it as well. So, the solution is to lessen the use of [private] cars,” said the VP when met in his office, on Jalan Medan Merdeka Utara, Central Jakarta, Tuesday, July 30.

According to Kalla, if the most contributor to air pollution is the massive number of vehicles, Anies and Jakarta people are then obliged to reduce the use of private vehicles.

Kalla mentioned another solution: the use of low emission vehicle. He hoped the Euro 4 emission standards could be implemented for all vehicles in the country in the future.

Jakarta has already had several public transportations, yet it could not change the public’s dependence on using private cars.

Therefore, Jusuf Kalla opined national movement is necessary to raise awareness on this issue among the public as well as regional heads. “This is behavior. Whoever the governor is, if this cannot be changed, the problem will remain,” he concluded.

EGI ADYATAMA