TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo immediately responded to the ban on online motorcycle taxi (ojek) issued by Transportation Minister Ignasius Jonan. Jokowi said that online ojek services were created to accommodate public needs. The President said that a regulation should not harm public needs.
"Who made the rules? We did. As long as [online ojek] is necessary, I think it should not be a problem," Jokowi said at the Bogor Palace on Friday, December 18, 2015.
Jokowi added that regulations should not hamper any innovations and new ideas created by young people, such as Go-Jek. However, Jokowi admitted that there has to be guidance from the government through the Transportation Ministry or the regional Transportation Agency to ensure passenger safety. Jokowi added that he had planned to summon Minister Jonan.
The recent ban on online-based transportation issued by the Transportation Ministry gained negative response from the public. Support for online transportation business runs rampant on social media while hundreds of internet users have signed an online petition urging the Transportation Ministry to lift the ban regulated in Transportation Minister Letter No. UM.3012/1/21/Phb/2015.
ALI HIDAYAT
