For many Jakartans, the weekly Car Free Day (CFD) is the highlight of the weekend. For five hours from 6 a.m. to 11 a.m. every Sunday, pedestrians claim the capital’s main thoroughfares as their own. While private vehicles reign supreme on weekdays, people can roam the streets freely on Sunday mornings.

Launched in 2002 to promote cleaner air and restrict the use of private vehicles, the CFD has offered room for many activities amid limited public space. However, the event is used not only to exercise or stroll the streets but as a stage for civil society organizations to voice their concerns over current issues.

For instance, the Community Alliance for Democratic Justice on Sept. 15 held a protest against the revision of the Criminal Code (KUHP) and demanded that the House of Representatives not pass the bill as it contained many problematic articles.

The alliance has held various political events in the past few weeks. It members earlier gathered during CFD on Jl. Sudirman and Jl. Thamrin to demand that lawmakers pass the sexual violence eradication bill.

The alliance is a group of community organizations that include environmental and cultural activist associations, legal aid institutes, paralegal communities, journalist unions, labor unions, worker advocacy networks, student executive bodies and others.

Purplecode Collective activist Lini Zurlia said the KUHP bill contained articles that were against the principles of democracy and violated human rights and people needed to be aware that it could lead to discrimination.

“We chose the CFD because we know that lots of people spend time with family there. We wanted to take advantage of the situation to get more public participation, besides campaigning on social media and campus discussions,” Lini told The Jakarta Post.

“Interestingly, not only young people who understand the issue joined in but also parents.”

Journalists Union for Diversity (Sejuk) program staffer Maulidya said that besides attracting people who understood the issue, the action during the CFD was also meant to gain attention from those who were not knowledgeable about current affairs.

“About 50 of us from the alliance went that day and we were so glad that many people who initially had no idea about our concerns could finally understand why they should become involved,” she told the Post recently.

“People should understand that the CFD is a campaign against car emissions and should be a place to carry out community-based activities related to art, culture, the environment and sport.”

Adi Utomo, a 43-year-old civil servant in Central Jakarta who is a regular at the CFD, said the staging of political activities at the Sunday event did not bother him and that he was instead glad to have the opportunity to become more informed.

“If the campaign is about certain political figures and parties during election periods, I couldn’t care less. But if it is an outcry in the name of public interest, there shouldn’t be a problem,” Adi said.

Making its mark, the mounting public outcry led to President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo instructing on Friday that endorsement of the controversial bill not be passed during the House’s current sitting period, which ends in less than two weeks.

Earlier this month, employees of the embattled Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) also used the CFD to voice their objection to the revision of a law on the antigraft agency. Dozens of KPK employees handed white roses to passersby to signify their objection to any revision that would declaw the KPK.

The House, however, endorsed the bill on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Pedestrian Coalition chairman Alfred Sitorus has denounced the staging of politically charged activities during the CFD, saying that was not what the event was initially intended for.

 “CFD Jakarta is a reference for many Asian countries that come to learn from us. Reaching its 17th anniversary this year, the spirit of the CFD should be restored as an amicable public space,” Alfred told the Post.

“People should understand that the CFD is a campaign against car emissions and should be a place to carry out community-based activities related to art, culture, the environment and sport.”

Jakarta has joined global cities in implementing the CFD. World Car Free Day is celebrated annually on Sept. 22 and is aimed at encouraging motorists to give up their vehicles for a day.

The Jakarta Police previously objected to political activities being staged on CFD and vowed to enforce a ban on such activities, arguing that it was against a 2016 gubernatorial regulation on the implementation of Car Free Day.

Objections soared prior to the presidential election in April, when various parties used the weekly event to promote
candidates. (syk)

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