Member of Commission VIII of the Indonesian House of Representatives, Derta Rohidin, reminded the government to remain focused on the root of the public transportation safety problem and not be distracted by secondary issues. This responds to the proposal of the Ministry of Empowerment of Women and Child Protection (Kemen PPPA) regarding the evaluation of the placement of special carriages for women after the train accident in Bekasi.
Derta assessed that although the spirit of the proposal was gender protection, the issue of the position of the car was not a fundamental solution to the chaos of the national railway system.
Derta emphasized that the fatal accident incident was not a problem of passenger configuration, but a reflection of the weak system governance that must be thoroughly improved.
According to him, the special car for women is an affirmative step to prevent sexual harassment, but in the context of accidents, life safety is determined more by the systemic technical aspects.
"The accident incident is not only about operational techniques, but also concerns the management of the railway system which must continue to be thoroughly improved," said Derta as quoted by ANTARA, Thursday, April 30, 2026.
He highlighted a number of crucial points that should be the priority for improvement, ranging from the modernization of the signaling system, the reliability of inter-car communication, to traffic management that integrates the KRL line with long-distance trains such as the Argo Bromo Anggrek train.
Derta reminded that referring to data from the Ministry of Transportation, the majority of train accidents in recent years were triggered by human error and operational system disruptions. Therefore, changing the position of the car is considered only symbolic if it is not accompanied by adequate audits of technology and rail infrastructure.
Furthermore, Derta encourages a thorough audit of operational controls to close the risk gap in the future. Increasing human resource capacity through recertification for drivers and operational officers is considered much more urgent than simply shifting the position of the car.
For him, women's protection must continue through strengthening supervision and rapid response to victim reports, but do not let the government's energy be exhausted on solutions that seem quick but do not touch the core of the problem.
Closing his statement, Derta hopes that the momentum after this fatal accident will be a turning point for the government to carry out substantial systemic improvements. He emphasized that public transportation safety is a complex collective responsibility and cannot be simplified.
"Don't let our energy be exhausted on solutions that seem quick, but don't solve the underlying problems," he said.
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