Coordinating Minister For Human Development And Culture Asks Principals To Ensure Student Tour Study Vehicles Are Safe

Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture Muhadjir Effendy was met by the media at the office of the Coordinating Ministry for Human Development and Culture, Jakarta, on Tuesday (14/5/2024). (ANTARA/Lintang Budiyanti Prameswari)

Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture (Menko PMK) Muhadjir Effendy asked the principal (kepsek) to really ensure that the condition of public transportation is safe and ready before inviting students to travel for tourism or touring studies.

"This is indeed an accident that I don't think is necessary, therefore the principal must be very careful when inviting his students to use public transportation or rental vehicles. Make sure in the past both the driver and the condition of the vehicle were really ready," said Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture Muhadjir Effendy in Jakarta, Tuesday, May 14, quoted by Antara.

He also regretted the tragedy of the Lingga Kencana Depok Vocational High School bus accident while traveling in Subang, West Java, and killing 11 people on Saturday, May 11.

"We are very sorry and it concerns the students, so once again I ask all schools if they use buses or public transportation for tourism, check the condition properly, we will see the route, we will see the results of the inspection of the feasibility of the bus, including the driver," he said.

The Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture said, reflecting on his experience in dealing with homecoming, schools should reconsider if they want to rent a tourism bus, it must be seen if the tourism agency can be trusted.

"And that's what I always want to do when dealing with homecoming, because there are so many tourism buses, actually the results of the auction, the auction which is actually not suitable and then repainted, so people see it as if it's a new bus. Even though it's a bus that is no longer feasible, especially if it's an unofficial tour, of course, there's never been a routine test of vehicles," he said.

The Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture said that although he did not yet know the results of the investigation from the police and the authorities regarding the exact cause of the accident, based on information from the media he read, the bus that had an accident in Subang was not roadworthy, because the vehicle or vehicle permit had expired.

He also appealed to school principals to really check the condition of vehicle drivers.

"Don't let the driver never have experience (vehicle) climbing, then have to control buses that are no longer feasible, have no experience anymore, it's very risky," said the Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture.