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🇮🇩 Indonesia /Health & Science

Sports Ministry Urges Regions to Add Adequate Lanes at Car-Free Day Events

From Republika · () Indonesian

Translated from Indonesian and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources New plan
  • Indonesia’s Youth and Sports Ministry wants car-free-day events to promote regular exercise rather than serve mainly as gathering and recreation spaces.
  • The ministry is urging local governments to improve event management, add dedicated lanes and place small businesses in zones that do not obstruct sports activities.
  • Officials said about 30% of Indonesians currently exercise regularly, while the government aims to raise the share to 50% by 2029.

Car-free days should become places where people build regular exercise habits, not simply crowded spaces for gathering, recreation and food stalls, Indonesia’s Youth and Sports Ministry says.

Yayat Suyatna, the ministry’s assistant deputy for community sports, made the call during ASEAN Sports Day 2026 in Yogyakarta on September 6, 2026. He said car-free days offer an accessible way for people to stay active because exercise does not need to be expensive.

“Exercise does not have to be expensive. We want to provide exercise that is easy, affordable, lively, enjoyable and makes people happy, including through car-free-day spaces,” Yayat said.

Exercise does not have to be expensive. We want to provide exercise that is easy, affordable, lively, enjoyable and makes people happy, including through car-free-day spaces.

· Yayat SuyatnaThe sports ministry official described car-free days as an accessible way to encourage exercise.

The campaign comes as only around 30% of Indonesians are recorded as physically active. The government wants that figure to reach 50% by 2029. The benchmark is 150 minutes of physical activity a week, in line with World Health Organization recommendations, or about 30 minutes a day over five days.

Yayat said activity often declines when young people move from school to university. The ministry plans to encourage local governments to improve the management of car-free days through guidance covering zones, facilities, services and the placement of small businesses. Walking, cycling, running and disability-access lanes should remain clear, while vendors can continue operating in suitable areas.

The ministry also wants more precise data on visitors, including numbers, gender, age groups and the sports they pursue. Yayat said the long-term success of a car-free day should not be measured only by attendance on the event day, but also by whether more people remain active afterward.

We face a problem when the younger generation becomes reluctant to move. We need to make this routine. People should not wait until they are sick before exercising.

· Yayat SuyatnaHe explained why the ministry wants exercise to become part of young people’s lifestyles.
About this summary

Originally published by Republika in Indonesian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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