City to regulate names of projects<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The city administration plans to issue a
\ngubernatorial decree forbidding developers from using the word
\nkota (city) in the name of projects.<\/p>\n
The decree, expected to be issued this week, was approved by
\nthen governor Surjadi Soedirdja but must be signed by other high
\nranking officials, Ahmaddin Ahmad, the head of the city's
\nplanning agency, said yesterday.<\/p>\n
\"The decree is informally ready,\" Ahmaddin said.<\/p>\n
Under the new regulation, developers will no longer be allowed
\nto put the word kota in their projects' names and those who are
\nalready using the word must remove it immediately, he said.<\/p>\n
The councilor refused to disclose the punishment developers
\nwould face if they did not toe the line.<\/p>\n
He said the use of kota had generated confusion about the
\nnature of administrative and structural boundaries.<\/p>\n
\"A 'city' should have its own territory, residents,
\nregulations, economic base, administrative and structural
\nprocedures,\" Ahmaddin said.<\/p>\n
The term kota can not be used freely by developers, he said,
\nciting Ciputra City as an example that defied the basic concept
\nof a city.<\/p>\n
\"It's not a small problem,\" he said. \"Imagine if you turn, for
\ninstance, a five-hectare plot into a housing complex. Can you
\ncall it a city? It's absurd.\"<\/p>\n
Using the word in a project's name can cause
\nmisunderstandings, he said.<\/p>\n
\"A city is a complete part of a society. A satellite city, for
\ninstance, must be a self-sufficient city not just a mere name.\"<\/p>\n
In 1990, the municipality issued a decree on the proper use of
\nthe Indonesian language on billboards. A crackdown in 1995 saw
\nthe dismantling of billboards that used foreign language.<\/p>\n
The city has since asked developers to change the foreign
\nnames of their properties into correct Indonesian, such as
\nsupermall into supermal, mall into mal, plaza into plasa,
\nresort into resor and garden into taman.<\/p>\n
Councilor Lukman Mokoginta said earlier that the use of the
\nword kota in many development projects in and around the city
\nover the past few years had created a social disparity.<\/p>\n
\"It's created a somewhat arrogant image,\" he said.<\/p>\n
But Ahmaddin said it might be difficult to enact the decree in
\nGreater Jakarta alone because some real estates located on the
\nJakarta-West Java border also used kota in their names.<\/p>\n
\"The city administration has to coordinate it first with the
\nneighboring West Java municipality,\" he said. (07)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/city-to-regulate-names-of-projects-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}