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strong>July 24, p3

The government has set an ambitious target of beginning the mass production of electric automobiles in 2014, but doubts prevail among industry experts over the feasibility of the target.

Coordinating Economic Minister Hatta Rajasa tested an electric car on Monday after a meeting at his office discussing the national electric cars program.

One prototype is a minibus made by the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) and the Research and Technology Ministry.

Another one is a car usually driven by State-Owned Enterprises Minister Dahlan Iskan, made by PT Sarimas Ahmadi Pratama, owned by the maker of the car, Dasep Ahmadi.

Your comments:

I must say that from day one, I have been skeptical about this electric bus program. If it turns out that the government has no clear research strategy on this, then it’s not going to work.

It is not sufficient to just plug components together to make an electric bus, you need to have done some core research on, for example, electric motors, batteries or fast charger technology.

Only then will you have a real advantage in having your own bus, rather than just buying it from a Japanese manufacturer.

Overall, I think research is very important for Indonesia, but given the very limited research money we have, I think Indonesia is lacking a smart research strategy.

Wishnu Prasetya

If the price is similar to the Japan brand, no doubt consumers will opt for the proven brand.

The car should be between Rp 50-70 million because it has the concept of an electric toy car.

Soni

Most fatal accidents in the street involve motor cyclists, mostly because of speeding and carelessness. It’s not difficult to find a motorcycle with three or more people on it.

The number of motorcycles is five times higher than that of cars. Reducing the number of cars will cut air pollution by 20 percent. And last but not least is the noise pollution caused by irresponsible motorists.

If the government does not have a hidden agenda, it must prioritize electric motorcycle mass production to replace conventional methods.

Then ban all conventional motorcycles from the roads. The policy will solve many problems.

Suri Adnyana