Unlike Anies, Jokowi Is Still Reviewing The Central Jakarta District Court's Decision On Jakarta's Air Pollution

JAKARTA - The Panel of Judges of the Central Jakarta District Court decided that the Republic of Indonesia, represented by President Joko Widodo and the Governor of DKI Jakarta Anies Baswedan, had committed an unlawful act that resulted in environmental damage and pollution, namely air pollution.

DKI Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan decided to accept the decision and did not file an appeal. So, what is Jokowi's attitude?

Special Staff to the Minister of State Secretary, Faldo Maldini said Jokowi and the ranks of the central government were still reviewing the results of the decision. The study was conducted by the Ministry of Environment and Forestry (KLHK).

"We are waiting for a review from the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, after which we will discuss various recommendation points, to determine what next steps should be," Faldo told VOI, Friday, September 17.

Faldo said that the government needed time to decide on a follow-up stance on the verdict of the Central Jakarta District Court. Hopefully, they can take the best steps.

"Hopefully this available time can be used to choose the best option. This is a legal route, of course legal arguments need to be prepared, we certainly hope to take the best option," he said.

Initially, the lawsuit was filed by 32 residents, namely Melanie Soebono, Elisa Sutanudjaja, Tubagus Soleh Ahmadi, Nur Hidayati, Adhito Harinugroho, Asfinawati, and dozens of other people represented by legal advisor Arif Maulana on July 4, 2019.

In their petition, the plaintiffs requested that the defendants be proven to have violated human rights, because they were negligent in fulfilling the right to a good and healthy environment.

Until finally, the Panel of Judges of the Central Jakarta District Court decided that the Republic of Indonesia had committed an unlawful act that resulted in environmental damage and pollution.

"To try, grant the plaintiffs' claims in part. To declare that Defendant I, Defendant II, Defendant III, Defendant IV, and Defendant V have committed acts against the law," said the chairman of the panel of judges, Saifuddin Zuhri in his decision.

The defendants are Defendant I President of the Republic of Indonesia Joko Widodo, Defendant II Minister of Environment and Forestry Siti Nurbaya Bakar, Defendant III Minister of Home Affairs Tito Karnavian, Defendant IV Minister of Health Budi Gunadi Sadikin, and Defendant V namely DKI Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan, Banten Governor Wahidin Halim, and West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil.

Anies responded quickly to this decision. In his statement, Anies decided not to go against the court's decision with an appeal after losing the air pollution lawsuit.

"The DKI Jakarta Provincial Government does not appeal and is ready to carry out the court's decision for better Jakarta air quality," said Anies.

In fact, Anies claimed that his party had made various efforts to control air quality in Jakarta before the judges of the Central Jakarta District Court found guilty.

Efforts to control air pollution in the capital city are contained in the Governor's Instruction Number 66 of 2019 concerning Air Quality Control.

"The DKI Jakarta Provincial Government has issued Governor's Instruction Number 66/2019 as quick wins to resolve the air pollution problem, even before the trial process begins. One of the points in Ingub Number 66/2019 is that the DKI Jakarta Provincial Government wants to ensure that there are no public transportation aged above 10 years and did not pass the emission test, operating on the road and completing the rejuvenation of all public transportation through the Jak Lingko program in 2020, according to the decision of the Panel of Judges point 1A, "explained Anies.