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As a sufferer of asthma since childhood, Maya Puspitasari was thrilled when Jakarta authorities banned smoking inside buildings despite protests from smokers.

“I thought I could finally breathe better, that at least I’d be safe when I was indoors,” she told the Jakarta Globe on Tuesday.

But months after the bylaw was imposed at the end of last year, Maya noticed the prohibition was being flouted and people were still smoking inside.

In her office building in Senayan, South Jakarta, she said workers often ignored the large, prominently posted “No Smoking” signs.

“They smoke in the emergency exits, near the toilets, on the office terrace, in the parking lot — practically everywhere,” she said.

There had been no attempt by the building management to admonish the smokers or enforce the prohibition, and none of the spot checks promised by the city authorities had reached her building, she added.

“Why bother passing a bylaw if you’re not going to put any effort into enforcing it?” she said.

Maya’s complaint has been given credence by a survey published last week by the Indonesian Consumer Protection Foundation (YLKI), which found that dozens of buildings in Jakarta still had indoor smoking rooms, in direct violation of the prohibition.

The survey, involving 210 restaurants, hotels and office buildings, found that more than a third of the buildings did not comply with the bylaw by banning smoking rooms.

The survey found that 36 percent of the 420 respondents had not heard about the bylaw at all, even though 79 percent — including smokers — agreed that it was a positive policy.

David San, a 36-year-old private tutor, said he did not know about the smoking prohibition.

“I always smoke in restaurants after finishing my meal. Everybody does; they even put ashtrays everywhere,” he said. “I never knew that we had to go outdoors to smoke. I’ve never been warned about it.”

YLKI representative Sudaryatmo said that while businesses occupying their own buildings tended to be more compliant with the bylaw, those renting space in other buildings were less likely to heed it.

“In the latter case, it’s the responsibility of the building management to uphold the bylaw and inform its tenants that smoking inside the building, even if limited to a designated smoking room, is prohibited,” he said.

The YLKI had proposed that the city administration require building managers to install smoke detectors to prevent people flouting the rules, he added.

“This would be a very feasible method to enforce the bylaw,” Sudaryatmo said. “It’s been implemented in many countries and has been proven to be quite effective in making people think twice before lighting up.”

Azas Tigor Nainggolan, chairman of the Jakarta Residents Forum (Fakta), blamed the Jakarta Environmental Management Agency (BPLHD) for not being strict in monitoring the implementation of the bylaw.

“The agency is just idling when it should be carrying out spot checks to ensure compliance,” he said.

Last year, Fakta conducted a survey on compliance with anti-smoking regulations, and found that of the 96 shopping malls surveyed across the city, 87 percent were found to be in violation of the rules. It also found that the majority of people flouting the prohibition were civil servants.

“These are the people who made the rules but now cannot be bothered to comply with them,” Azas said.

“And now they expect building managers, tenants and visitors to care at all?”

He added that the BPLHD also failed to follow up promptly on complaints from the public about violations of the bylaw. In the past three months, 246 buildings have been reported to the agency. “What we want is for the BPLHD to issue a warning to the building managers at fault and publish their names as part of a name-and-shame campaign,” Azas said.

Ridwan Panjaitan, head of compliance at the BPLHD, refused several requests for comment.