T

he Police have declared the highest security level for the capital and have called on the public not to use several main thoroughfares in the city to avoid traffic jams and possible trouble resulting from the President'€™s Cup soccer final on Sunday.

To maximize the preparations for the match, Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. Tito Karnavian met with Jakarta Governor Basuki '€œAhok'€ Tjahaja Purnama and Bandung Mayor Ridwan Kamil on Friday to finalize the plans to secure the soccer match between Persib from Bandung, West Java, and Sriwijaya from Palembang, South Sumatra.

Representatives of the fans of local club Persija Jakarta and those of Persib Bandung were also invited because of fears of clashes between their respective supporters. Although Persija are not playing in the match there is a long history of hostility between fans of Persib and Persija.

At the meeting, the governor guaranteed that Jakarta would be a '€œgood host'€ for the President'€™s Cup final, which will also be attended by President Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo

'€œWe will support the Jakarta Police in maintaining security during the final,'€ Ahok said.

Meanwhile, Ridwan expressed his hope that the match involving Persib Bandung would not result in crowd trouble.

'€œWe plan security for a soccer competition like we are going to have a war. I hope this won'€™t happen again in the future,'€ Ridwan said, adding that all stakeholders needed to instill the idea of a soccer competition being a festive occasion rather than an excuse for violence.

Tito explained that the police would deploy up to 10,000 police officers and 3,000 Indonesian Military (TNI) personnel at the stadium, as well as mobilizing personnel to secure the roads that would be used by Persib Bandung players and supporters.

In addition, 1,200 officers from the West Java Police would safeguard the Persib Bandung players and fans during their journey from Bandung to Jakarta and back.

The police urged Jakartans to avoid four areas in the capital on Sunday as they would apply traffic engineering to reduce congestion around the Gelora Bung Karno stadium in Senayan, South Jakarta.

Jakarta Traffic Police education and traffic engineering subdirectorate head Adj. Comr. Ipung Purnomo hoped that people would avoid major roads near the stadium.

The police will focus their attention mainly on the areas of Cawang, East Jakarta, Grogol, West Jakarta, and Blok M and Jl. Asia-Afrika in South Jakarta.

'€œThe engineering will affect other main roads, including Jl. MH Thamrin, Jl. Sudirman, and Jl. Rasuna Said,'€ Ipung said on Friday, adding that the plan would be implemented at 10 a.m., depending upon traffic conditions. (agn)