Lawmaker Urges Govt To Give Sanction To Lion Air

Jakarta (Antara Bali) - The government should sanction local airline company PT Lion Air due to drug problems involving a number of its pilots, according to member of parliament from Commission IX Muhammad Firdaus.

His statement follows an incident in which Lion Air pilot SS was arrested by the police last Saturday (Feb 4) at 03.30 AM and charged with using methamphetamine at a hotel in Surabaya, East Java. SS was scheduled to go on duty at 06.00 that same day.

SS is not the only Lion Air pilot who has been arrested for possessing drugs. Last January 10 police arrested PT Lion Air pilot Hanum Adhyaksa in Makassar, South Sulawesi, after finding 0.9 grams of methamphetamine in his pocket. Further, in 2011 police arrested PT Lion Air pilot M. Nasri, who was using methamphetamine along with two friends in an apartment in Tangerang, Banten province.

"The government, specifically the Transportation Ministry, must issue sanctions to the airline company. This is important because the airline business involves the safety of many customers," he said.

If necessary, he added, the government must ban all operational activities of Lion Air until the company ensures that all of its crew members are not involved in drug use.(IGT)