Jakarta Cancels Tomorrow's Car Free Night Trial

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Jakarta government has canceled the Car Free Night (CFN) trial. The government initially planned the CFN in conjunction with the Jakarta Muharam Festival, which will take place on the upcoming Saturday, July 5, 2025. The festival was planned as part of the commemoration of the Islamic New Year.

The Special Staff of the Jakarta Governor for Public Communication, Cyril Raoul Hakim or Chico Hakim, apologized for the cancellation. "After considering various factors, the Jakarta Province Government decided to promote the commemoration at the community level and cancel the Jakarta Muharam Festival 2025," Chico said in a written statement on Friday, July 4, 2025.

Chico said the Jakarta Provincial Government appreciates the residents' enthusiasm and the committee's hard work in preparing the Car Free Night. However, he said, the government sees the cancellation of CFN as the best step. The potential disruption to traffic flow and the regular activities of residents in the evening and at night became considerations for the cancellation.

Chico mentioned that initially, the Jakarta Muharam Festival 2025 was scheduled to take place from 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. WIB (Indonesia Western Time). The event was supposed to include a torch parade passing through the Southwest Gate of the National Monument (Monas) and continuing to the Hotel Indonesia (HI) Roundabout via Jalan MH Thamrin.

Although the festival is now canceled, Chico stated that the government still encourages the people of Jakarta to commemorate the Islamic New Year. "What is canceled is the concept of the event, not the 1 Muharram commemoration," said the politician from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP). "The Jakarta Provincial Government still encourages the residents, together with government agencies and officials, starting from the neighborhood units to the district, to solemnly and meaningfully commemorate the Islamic New Year in their respective environments."

On the other hand, Chico stated that the Jakarta Provincial Government will still hold an event in the HI Roundabout area on Car Free Day (CFD) on Sunday, July 6, 2025. There will be an event titled "Jakarta in Colors" at the CFD this week.

The event will take place from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. WIB. There will be performances by 5,000 martial artists and 2,000 traditional Jakarta dancers. In addition, there will also be a performance by the Jakarta Drum Corps marching band collaborating with giant ondel-ondel (giant Betawi effigies).

The Jakarta Provincial Government initially planned to conduct a trial of Car Free Night on Saturday, July 5, 2025. Since July 3, 2025, several preparations have been made, including the installation of a giant Videotron screen and a main stage at the HI Roundabout in Central Jakarta.

The CFN event was originally planned as part of the 498th anniversary celebrations for Jakarta, as well as to welcome the month of Muharram 1447 Hijri. "Actually, it's a soft launch. We want to start with the santri from Monas," said Jakarta Deputy Governor Rano Karno at Jakarta City Hall on Wednesday, July 2, 2025.

According to Rano, this event is a symbolic celebration and an initial trial run before Car Free Night becomes a regular occurrence. There are several reasons why the Jakarta Provincial Government will hold Car Free Night regularly in the future. One reason is that many residents of Jakarta exercise in the evening."

Furthermore, Rano revealed that the Car Free Night is part of the strategy to realize a more environmentally friendly Jakarta. "This is also an effort to reduce carbon emissions," said the former Acting Governor of Banten.

Yolanda Agne contributed to the writing of this article

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