"Wear masks, especially when you find yourselves in an unwell condition," he said in Jakarta on Monday.
The minister confirmed that the air quality in Indonesia, especially in the national capital, has worsened to an alarming level, noting that the concentration of air pollution in Jakarta has reduced the visibility of the city's views from his office.
Minister Effendy then said that the new capital Nusantara (IKN) is currently being developed, saying, "Relocating (the capital city) to IKN serves as a strategic solution to this matter."
Regarding the transition to electric vehicles, he pointed out that such a transition would not completely resolve the air pollution problem.
"We still need a long time to eventually treat electric vehicles as the main option. Currently, they are substitutive vehicles in nature," he explained.
Earlier, President Joko Widodo pushed for the implementation of a hybrid working system as an effort to reduce air pollution in Jakarta-Bogor-Depok-Tangerang-Bekasi (Jabodetabek), which has plunged to a very bad category in the past week.
"If necessary, we should push offices to adopt a hybrid working system involving both work from office and work from home. Regarding working hours, we will decide whether it is 7-5, 2-5, or others," he informed during a limited meeting in Jakarta on Monday.
The head of state stressed that the air quality in Jakarta has deteriorated to a very bad level, adding that in the short term, he has instructed the related ministries and non-ministerial governmental agencies to intervene in improving the air quality in the Jabodetabek area.
The intervention measures will include weather engineering to induce rainfall in Jabodetabek as well as the enforcement of regulations that aim to accelerate the implementation of emission limits, especially in the area in question.
Furthermore, the President also called for increasing the number of spots for green open spaces (RTH) in the area and demanded that related stakeholders immediately prepare the budget required for implementing the instruction.
In the medium term, the government plans to consistently execute policies aimed at reducing reliance on fossil fuel-based vehicles and encourage the public to transition to mass transport, he added.
Meanwhile, in the long term, he continued, the government has resolved to strengthen concrete actions to mitigate and adapt to climate change.
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Translator: Asep F, Tegar Nurfitra
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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