"Regardless of the pros and cons touted by various parties about the LCGC program, we need to look at both its positive and negative impacts," Nunuj Nurdjanah, a researcher with Road Transport Research and Development at the Ministry of Transportation said in a written statement received on Tuesday.
Nurdjanah pointed out that the positive impact was that the state`s income from taxes levied on the automotive sector would grow and the country`s middle class would be able to buy a new car at an affordable price.
Moreover, motorcyclists might start driving cheap cars, preventing the entry of low-cost cars from abroad or from neighboring countries, such as Thailand, which was the first to produce cheap cars.
The negative impacts arising out of the policy would be the growing number of private car ownership, which would also boost road use by these vehicles and worsen traffic congestion and fuel consumption problems, Nurdjanah stated.
Public transit enthusiasts might also have to deal with the dominance of private vehicles on the road during the Eid holiday exodus from major cities, he added.
"The implementation of the cheap car program has caused a chained reaction and extra effort is needed for related institutions to lower the negative impact," Nurdjanah said.
Therefore, relevant ministries, such as the Ministry of Transportation, Ministry of Public Works and the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources will be the affected government agencies who must strive to overcome the negative effects of this cheap car program.
In the meantime, other related agencies must also work hard to overcome the negative fallouts for local governments, especially in the big cities.
"Discussions are also ongoing about whether these cheap cars should be distributed outside Java," Nurdjanah pointed out.
However, he argued that the cheap car was designed for city driving and might not be suitable for driving on roads in the difficult terrain outside the Java Island.
"These cheap cars might not sell well there," Nurdjanah added.
EDITED BY INE
(A050/KR-BSR/A014)
Editor: Jafar M Sidik
Copyright © ANTARA 2013
