JAKARTA: Indonesia’s president publicly rebuked one of his cabinet ministers yesterday for a clampdown on ride-hailing services such as Uber and Go-Jek, which triggered outrage on social media in a country where public transport options are limited.
Transport Minister Ignasius Jonan’s restriction, which sent shares of taxi companies soaring in morning trade, will be seen as another embarrassment for President Joko Widodo, who has struggled to keep cabinet members in line since he took office last year.
Just months ago he invited dozens of motorbike drivers employed by Go-Jek, whose lime-green colours are now ubiquitous in the traffic-clogged streets of Jakarta, to lunch at his palace.
“Don’t let the people be burdened because of regulations,” Widodo said on his official Twitter account, adding that regulations ‘need to be managed’ and he would ‘immediately’ summon Jonan for talks.
Innovation by the younger generation should not be restrained and applications such as Go-Jek exist because they are needed by society, Widodo told reporters at the palace yesterday.
The Kompas newspaper reported on its website late on Thursday that Jonan’s ministry had banned the use of personal vehicles for public transport.
The minister rowed back yesterday, saying in a statement that online ride-hailing services could continue to operate until a solution to meet public transport needs is found.
He gave no further details.
This episode shows that Widodo is “unable to fully control his ministers,” Firman Noor, a political analyst at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences, told Reuters by telephone.
“There seems to be relative independence at the ministries to make their own internal decisions that may not be communicated to the president,” Noor said.
“In some cases they contradict the president’s stand.” Jonan is no stranger to controversy. — Reuters