T

he municipal administration of Surakarta, Central Java plans to use motorcycles assembled by local vocational high school (SMK) students as official vehicles for the city’s 51 subdistrict heads to show appreciation for domestic products.

Municipal secretary Budi Suharto said the decision did not violate any regulation. In doing this, he added, Surakarta was setting an example for other regions to follow. “We have to have the will to promote domestic products,” Budi said on Friday.

To realize the plan, the administration has allocated Rp 433.5 million (US$45,900) from its 2012 amended budget on the assumption that one moto bike will cost Rp 8.5 million to buy. The purchases will be made via an open bidding mechanism, allowing anyone who is interested to join the bid.

Budi added that the purchase of the vehicles was needed as the last time motorcycles were purchased for administration leaders was 10 years ago in 2002.

Of the 51 motorcycles to be replaced with the SMK-assembled bikes, according to Budi, one third were so seriously damaged that it was more cost-effective to buy new motorcycles than pay for repairs.

Motorcycles that are considered beyond repair will be withdrawn and deleted from the city’s list of assets. Those that are still in good condition, however, will be allocated as operational vehicles for the respective subdistrict administrations.

“I have proposed [the purchase of the SMK motorcycles as official vehicles] because I can see that their quality is as high as that of other models,” Budi said.

Surakarta Legislative Council speaker Y.F. Sukasno, similarly, said there was no regulation that banned the municipal administration from executing the plan.

“As long as the specifications [of the motorcycles] are in accordance with the requisite standards for such official vehicles, and as long as they are capable of being maintained and repaired, there is no problem with it,” Sukasno said.

The motorcycles will be assembled by students at the state-run vocational senior high school SMKN 5 Surakarta in cooperation with motorcycle producer PT Inti Kanzen Motor. SMKN 5 Surakarta is one of 13 vocational high schools nationwide that the company has taken on as partners.

Each motorcycle has a four-stroke 100 cc engine, which is claimed to be more economic in its fuel consumption compared with other motorbikes with the same specifications.