Heru Budi Suggests Jakarta Civil Servants Buy EV Amid Worsening Air Pollution

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Jakarta Acting Governor Heru Budi Hartono asked the city’s civil servants or ASN to take advantage of the 50 percent work-from-home (WFH) policy by saving and then purchasing an electric vehicle.

Heru said each ASN is given a transportation allowance and the figure is not scrapped during the WFH policy so that the money could be used to buy a battery-powered vehicle. “[They can] buy an electric motorbike on installment,” he said at his office on Thursday, August 24, 2023.

However, Heru stressed that this is just a suggestion and the provincial government could not force it. Switching from fossil-fueled vehicles to electric ones is expected to help combat air pollution in the Greater Jakarta areas.

“ASN has the sources. The money can be used in installments to buy a battery-powered vehicle,” Heru Budi said.

WFH to curb air pollution

The Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Investment stated that the work-from-home (WFH) policy is one of the ways to deal with air pollution in Jakarta and its neighboring regions.

Rachmat Kaimuddin, the Deputy for Infrastructure and Transportation Coordination, acknowledged that the air quality has been worrying lately. Therefore, the government focused on maintaining public health.

“We are trying to prevent the people from being directly exposed to the unhealthy air. How do we do that? One of them is by [enforcing] the WFH policy,” Rachmat said in a virtual press conference on Thursday, August 24, 2023.

NINDA DWI RAMADHANI | AMELIA RAHIMA SARI

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