President Joko Widodo in the meeting room with PLN coordinators. (Image via Kompas)

Jokowi's Thoughts About Jakarta and Its Surroundings' Blackout

People were left in shock on Sunday, August 4. It is because of the sudden blackout that hits Banten, Jakarta, Bandung and more cities. What's more important, the blackout occurs for 6-18 hours; varies duration in different places. Due to this, everything was a mess; transportation, red light, toll and electronic-based money systems are not working. Jakarta's newest transportation, MRT Jakarta, is said not able to take the passengers to their desired stations. MRT Jakarta 100% relies on the electricity, so once the electricity does not exist, they couldn't continue the service.

Not only MRT, Commuter Line is reported to be in the same situation as MRT. They rely on the electricity, so they could not go anywhere when an outage occurs. The only transportation that could work normally is only Transjakarta buses. However, they had to use manual ticketing because the e-tap machines are useless. It is even reported passengers were able to ride the bus for free due to the lack amount of manual tickets. The phone providers did not work as well, so it was impossible for people to use their phones for call, SMS, and internet. Thus, the online ojek (motorcycle hailing) and taxis were having hard times on Sunday.

Knowing that citizens are harmed due to the blackout, Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) went to PLN main office in South Jakarta. During the visit, Jokowi met with the directors of PLN, asking for an explanation about Sunday's blackout. Before the director could explain, Jokowi stated that he wants a simple and short answer. However, it is reported that the director gave a detailed long answer.

Not liking the answer, Jokowi stated that people are harmed by the blackout and there are still places that electricity has not turned on yet. He asked if PLN has a backup plan if something like this occur again in the future. However, the director stated that she needs more time for that. Expressing his disappointment, Jokowi decided to leave the room and told PLN to do whatever it takes to recover the electricity.

Source: https://nasional.kompas.com/read/2019/08/05/10103361/usai-dengar-penjelasan-plt-dirut-pln-jokowi-marah-dan-langsung-pergi?page=2