Jakartans still visit malls despite bombings<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): It was business as usual as people shopped and
\nbrowsed in shopping malls on Thursday morning, seemingly
\nindifferent to the bomb explosion at the Atrium Plaza in Senen,
\nCentral Jakarta, the night before.<\/p>\n
Due the recent spate of bombings that rocked the capital and
\nother cities in the country, Jakartans today seem to be rather
\ndesensitized by such news.<\/p>\n
Not that they can no longer be shocked, but the public today
\nare simply not paying a lot of attention to such incidence.<\/p>\n
"I don't feel frightened, maybe because the bombings have been
\nquite frequent now," Farida Pulungan, a resident of Cempaka
\nPutih, Central Jakarta, told The Jakarta Post while shopping at
\nPlaza Senayan.<\/p>\n
"I'm not shocked anymore. I do worry sometimes when I make
\nplans to go out, but not enough to stop me from going to the
\nmall," she said.<\/p>\n
Another shopper at Plaza Indonesia, Kristina Dwilia, said she
\nwas horrified when she heard about the bomb attack at the Atrium
\nPlaza but it did not worry her that much.<\/p>\n
Saiful who lives in Setiabudi, South Jakarta, said he would
\ncontinue shopping in malls but would be more selective of which
\nmalls he visits.<\/p>\n
The capital has been the target of no less than six bomb
\nattacks in the past month.<\/p>\n
The latest attack occurred at the Atrium Plaza when a bomb
\nexploded on Wednesday night, injuring at least six people.<\/p>\n
A bomb also went off on July 22 at Santa Anna Church in Duren
\nSawit, East Jakarta, injuring at least 70 people.<\/p>\n
Thus far, police have uncovered little in their investigations
\nand merely blamed "terrorists" for the wave of attacks.<\/p>\n
The explosion at the Atrium Plaza, however, was the first such
\nattack on a shopping mall in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
But it seemed to do little in denting Jakartans enthusiasm to
\nvisit these air-conditioned shopping centers, which have also
\nevolved to become popular recreation spots in the capital.<\/p>\n
There was no drastic drop in patrons nor was there tighter
\nsecurity at the malls.<\/p>\n
"We believe our current security procedure is adequate.
\nHowever, we will be more alert to suspicious looking objects and
\npeople," said Untung Wicaksono, human resources manager of Plaza
\nIndonesia.<\/p>\n
The same was the case with Plaza Senayan shopping mall.<\/p>\n
"According to our standard security procedure, we comb our
\npremises at least three times a day for suspicious looking
\nobjects. At the moment we don't have any plans to increase our
\nsecurity," Diah Malhayati, Plaza Senayan's deputy head of the
\nsecurity department, told the Post. (06)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/jakartans-still-visit-malls-despite-bombings-1447893297",
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