Outery from residents over stadium project<\/p>\n
Rendi A. Witular, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The plan to build the largest basketball stadium in Southeast
\nAsia has drawn public outcry, and ignores the fact that
\nIndonesia's men and women teams have performed poorly in
\ninternational events.<\/p>\n
Despite the outcry from local residents of West Kelapa Gading
\nsubdistrict, North Jakarta, the Jakarta administration -- in
\nwhich Governor Sutiyoso has served as the Indonesian Basketball
\nAssociation (Perbasi) chairman -- pledged on Monday to continue
\nthe \"sports mall\" construction.<\/p>\n
North Jakarta deputy mayor and the acting operational manager
\nfor the project, Pinondang Simanjuntak, said the construction
\nmust go on although \"there was strong protests from the local
\nresidents.\"<\/p>\n
\"It's just a matter of socializing the venue. Soon, they (the
\nresidents) will approve to the project anyway,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The sports mall is being constructed by PT Gamma Investa
\nLestari, a private contractor and subsidiary of PT Satria Mahaka,
\nunder the build transfer operating (BOT) system, which allows the
\nadministration to take over the sports mall after 25 years of
\noperation.<\/p>\n
PT Satria Mahaka is the owner of Satria Muda basketball club,
\nwhose general manager Erick Thohir had served as the national
\nbasketball men's team manager at the 2001 Southeast Asian Games
\nin Kuala Lumpur last September. Erick is also the general manager
\nof Republika daily.<\/p>\n
The project, occupying a 2.6-hectare plot of land, has been
\nprotested by the public as it is being built on land aimed for
\nsocial and public facilities. The land, located on Jl. Janur Elok
\nRaya, is surrounded by nearly 600 houses. The sports mall and the
\nhouses are only separated by six-meter-width roads.<\/p>\n
Chief of the community unit 6, Yacob F. Mulya, said locals
\nwould be very annoyed should the basketball stadium really be
\nerected.<\/p>\n
\"Take into consideration our feelings, that only six meters
\nfrom our house stands a giant three-story basketball stadium.
\nThey claim it's going to be the biggest in Southeast Asia? Who
\ncares?\" he groaned.<\/p>\n
\"The social impact is just too great for us to bear. Traffic
\ncongestion after matches, noise, hoodlums and sanitary problems
\nare just simple examples of the possible impact.\"<\/p>\n
The city plan states that the plot of land must be used for
\npublic school or administration offices.<\/p>\n
Yacob and other residents had delivered their letter of
\nobjection to the governor on Feb. 25 and had also met with city
\ncouncillors on the issue on Mar. 27.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, both authorities turned down their objection.<\/p>\n
The residents plan to file a law suit against the
\nadministration should it insist to continue the construction.<\/p>\n
The controversy mounted further as the project is not equipped
\nwith analysis on environmental effect (AMDAL) and building permit
\n(IMB).<\/p>\n
The project did not put the IMB announcement on the building
\nsite unlike other city projects.<\/p>\n
Pinondang admitted that the building permit was still being
\nprocessed.<\/p>\n
\"I still have no idea if the permit has been issued. I just
\nknow that it's being processed,\" he said.<\/p>",
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