Minister Jonan Refuses To Resign Due To The Kemacetal Tragedy Of The Brexit Line In Today's History, 11 July 2016

The traffic jam that occurred on the Brexit (Brebes Exit) route on Lebaran 2016. (ANTARA)

JAKARTA History today, nine years ago, July 11, 2016, Minister of Transportation (Menhub) Ignasius Jonan refused to resign due to the tragedy of congestion on the Brexit toll road (Brebes Exit). He emphasized that congestion on toll roads is the authority of the Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR).

Previously, the momentum of Eid homecoming was the thing that the entire Indonesian people had been waiting for. The land route has become the prima donna. Problems arise. Congestion at the exit of the Brebes Timur toll road is bad news that appears in the Eid homecoming season.

Eid homecoming has become a big annual tradition in Indonesia. City people return to their hometowns to gather with their families on Eid. The choice of homecoming modes also varies from land, water, and air.

Land transportation also emerged as a seed. This condition is because road access, especially in Java, has been connected to many expressways (toll roads). However, the homecoming trip can run smoothly, another question.

Take for example during the 2016 homecoming. Many travelers make the Pejagan-Brebes Timur Toll Road a prima donna. The road can cut the time from Brebes to Jakarta which is usually 7-8 hours to only four hours.

Homecomers are also required to first go to the East Brebes toll exit to access the East Pejangan-Brebes Toll Road. Problems arise. All travelers then wanted to try out the Pejangan-East Brabes Toll Road.

As a result, severe traffic jams occurred on the road to Brexit. Everything because the Brexit lane is a minor lane. This means that the lane cannot accommodate many cars at once. The travelers ended up stuck for decades in Brexit.

Congestion also reached 13-20 kilometers. The incident then killed 12 people due to fatigue. This condition makes the public blame the government, especially the Toll Road Regulatory Agency (BPJT) under the Ministry of PUPR.

"That's not the case, the toll road before it was operated already had a function-worthy test process, and it was carried out together with the Ministry of Transportation. If the road runs smoothly, it's actually adequate, but if it stops like yesterday, it's because of a certain situation. The area has already existed, only those in the first 20 kilometers are still not, after that it will only be built," said the Head of BPJT, Herry Trisaputra as quoted on the tempo.co page, July 9, 2016.

BPJT's statement dragged the Ministry of Transportation into a polemic. Minister of Transportation Jonan immediately responded because he was urged by many parties to resign. Jonan is considered responsible for the Brexit traffic jam which resulted in the loss of 12 people's lives.

Jonan emphasized that he refused to resign from the seat of the Minister of Transportation on July 12, 2016. He considered the Ministry of Transportation's accusations to be responsible for the wrong address.

Jonan explained that the authority of the Ministry of Transportation is limited. The Ministry of Transportation only handles air-based transportation, ships based on sea, trains, and road-based public transportation. Toll roads are BPJT's business under the Ministry of PUPR.

"Only stupid people ordered to resign because of that. Ask the Minister of Public Works (Basuki Hadimuljono)," said Jonan as quoted by the COMPASS.com page, July 11, 2016.