It is not against MRT rules to drink water and eat dates during Ramadan. Announcements at stations and in trains even notify passengers when it is time to break the fast. However, eating and drinking anything else is prohibited – and the very same announcements inform passengers of this.

Some passengers traveling from Bunduran HI Station, Central Jakarta, to Lebak Bulus Station, South Jakarta, paid no attention to this message on Monday afternoon.

Aulia, 25, was eating bread for iftar (breaking-of-the-fast meal) when MRT security personnel approached her and asked her to stop eating. She quickly put her bread back in her backpack and apologized, telling the officers that she did not know it was against the rules.

The no-eating rule, set by city-owned MRT operator PT MRT Jakarta, went into effect last week to maintain cleanliness inside the trains and instill a sense of discipline among passengers who commute in an otherwise highly polluted city. The company argued that breaking the fast with water and dates would not leave crumbs on the train.

PT MRT Jakarta operation and maintenance director Muhammad Effendi said passengers caught consuming food and drinks could be asked to step out of the train at the nearest station. However, thus far, the company has simply given warnings to those who are not aware of the policy.

Upon alighting from the train in Lebak Bulus, Aulia admitted that she had lied to the security guards. She actually knew about the no-eating policy.

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