I don`t need the car and I have no idea about its purchase."Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The new governor of Jakarta, Joko Widodo (Jokowi), has refused to sign the receipt for the purchase of a luxurious car - a Toyota Land Cruiser - offered to him.
"I didn`t sign the receipt for the new car`s purchase because I don`t need the car and I have no idea about its purchase, which was made before I became governor," he told the press here on Thursday.
Jokowi added that he had not yet decided on whether to use the Toyota Land Cruiser.
"I have no idea where the car is and I do not know its number, but why I am asked to use it?" the former mayor of Solo, Central Java province, questioned.
The governor said he preferred using the Toyota Kijang Innova, a multi-purpose vehicle which costs less than Rp500 million. The Toyota Land Cruiser, on the other hand, is priced almost Rp1 billion.
"If the Esemka car made by the vocational high school students in Solo is brought to Jakarta, I will use that instead," he added.
Meanwhile, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono praised a group of vocational high school students in Solo for successfully assembling a car, which has been named Kiat Esemka.
The car has even passed the emission tests.
"It has passed the test and the students have even managed to reduce its weight from 2.4 tonnes to 1.2 tonnes," Solo deputy mayor FX Hadi Rudyatmo told the press here on Thursday.
The German ambassador to Indonesia, Nor Bert Baas, said his country was ready to provide expert assistance in the Esemka car project, which is currently being carried out by the Surakarta (Solo) municipal administration.
Jokowi and Basuki Tjahaja Purnama were inaugurated as Jakarta`s governor and deputy governor in the presence of Home Affairs Minister Gamawan Fauzi on October 15. They replaced Fauzi Bowo and Prijanto after their victory in the run-off election last month.
Their term of office will expire in 2017.
(Uu.B003/INE/KR-BSR/H-YH)
Editor: Priyambodo RH
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