Antara, Jakarta – Former Jakarta governor and candidate of the 2024 Presidential Election Anies Baswedan had recently criticized the government's 2023 program that incentivizes purchases of electric vehicles, which he insisted would only add to the traffic congestion problem.

He also said electric vehicle incentives are not the solution to reducing air pollution and assessed that the carbon emissions of electric cars per capita per kilometer are actually higher than the carbon emissions of gasoline-fueled buses.

"Why? Because a single bus can carry more people than a personal electric vehicle that carries fewer people," said Baswedan on May 10, Antaranews reported.

Moreover, he insisted the government push for a democratization of resources that can be distributed to other sectors that can benefit the larger portion of Indonesia's population.

Upon responding to the politician's criticism, Coordinating Minister of Maritime Affairs and Investments Luhut Pandjaitan said the adoption of EV policies has been enacted in multiple countries apart from Indonesia.

"Here's the thing. Electric vehicles have gone through comprehensive studies and I think that involves the world, not just Indonesia. We cannot go against the [global trend]," said Luhut to Antara.

Luhut also explained what the positive impacts of the electric vehicle incentive rules were and is willing to extensively explain to detractors of the policy.

"I am not aware of who commented about it. Whoever they are, tell them to come to me directly, let me explain that what he said was not true," he said.

Indonesia has introduced a new incentive package for consumers purchasing electric vehicles, which was enacted in March this year, in the form of purchasing discounts and 10 percent VAT cuts.

Source: https://en.tempo.co/read/1723972/luhut-defends-electric-vehicle-incentive-policy-in-wake-of-criticis