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Ahok to get tough on restaurants violating smoking ban
(JP)Acting Jakarta governor Basuki âAhokâ Tjahaja Purnama threatened on Friday to revoke the permits of restaurants and cafes that did not comply with the 2005 bylaw on air pollution control
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(JP) (JP)
(JP)
Acting Jakarta governor Basuki 'Ahok' Tjahaja Purnama threatened on Friday to revoke the permits of restaurants and cafes that did not comply with the 2005 bylaw on air pollution control.
The regulation states that people are not allowed to smoke at all in five types of facilities, namely public transportation, healthcare buildings, schools, children's areas and places of worship.
The regulation also applies to offices and public spaces, including malls, restaurants, airport terminals and train stations.
'Just be ready. I will knock all of you [cafes and restaurants] down,' Ahok told reporters at City Hall.
He made the statement in response to ongoing reports that many cafes and restaurants, especially those located in shopping malls, continue to violate the regulation by permitting their customers to smoke.
Ahok said that cafe and restaurant owners dared to break the law because public officials were not brave enough to reprimand them when they saw customers smoking.
'Our [Public Orders] officers in the field are not strict enough in enforcing the regulation,' he said.
However, he said that he would stop violations by starting to close offending cafes and restaurants.
Ahok added that the city administration would enforce the regulation gradually. Indonesian Shopping Center Association (APPBI) chairman Ellen Hidayat said that she fully supported Ahok's statement.
She said that the association had supported the regulation by informing all of its members about complying with the bylaw.
'Our association consists of 75 member malls. We informed them of the regulation on air pollution control by sending official letters around three years ago,' she said.
She said that all shopping mall owners had declared that they would comply with the regulation. She added that the mall owners had conducted further actions by informing all of their tenants to stop permitting their customers to smoke in their facilities, in line with the regulation.
Similar to Ahok's threat, Ellen said that the mall owners had also threatened to revoke tenants' business permits if they continued to allow their customers to smoke in their stores.
Violations of the regulation on air pollution control can regularly be seen at malls across Jakarta. On Friday, two women were seen enjoying cigarettes at a restaurant in a major mall in West Jakarta, although there was a notice regarding the smoking ban nearby. At another mall, also in West Jakarta on Friday, a man was seen smoking inside a restaurant.
The venues are not alone, as almost all large shopping malls in Jakarta have restaurants or cafes that violate the bylaw. (alz)
