Indonesia delays single time zone implementation

JAKARTA - An Indonesian senior official said that a plan to unify Indonesia under one time zone will be delayed until at least next year, local media reported on Friday.

The government previously announced that the plan, which would see the 5,271 kilometer-wide archipelago unifying under one clock, would be in place by October. But the proposal for the time zone change has yet to arrive on the president's desk, Luky Eko Wuryanto, deputy for infrastructure and regional development at the Coordinating Ministry for the Economy said on Thursday.

"I don't think that the time unification will be implemented this year," Luky, who also serves as a secretary at the Indonesian Economic Development Committee (KP3EI), said, the Jakarta Globe reported.

The KP3EI floated the time unification proposal earlier this year, arguing that it would improve competitiveness within Southeast Asia's largest economy. Luky added that the plan had yet to secure approval from the parliament.

A shift to a single time zone would force millions of citizens and government offices, businesses and institutions to recalibrate their daily schedules, Luky said.

"We need at least three months to promote the plan so that it can be successfully implemented. We don't have that time this year," he said.