Administration ready to face parking complaint
JAKARTA (JP): An administration official and city councilor said on Friday they were ready to face a lawsuit by businesspeople in the parking industry, who are unhappy with Thursday's enactment of a draft bylaw on parking affairs.
Deputy Governor for Development Affairs Budihardjo Sukmadi and head of City Council Commission D for development affairs Ali Wongso Sinaga said separately they welcomed the businesspeople's initiative to express their dissatisfaction.
Hours after the council enacted the draft bylaw on Thursday, the businesspeople grouped in three related associations aired their objections to stipulations in the bylaw stating that parking operators must share between 10 percent and 35 percent of their income with the administration and obtain a gubernatorial permit for parking services.
Speaking on behalf of the associations -- the Indonesian Retailers Association, the Indonesian Property Management Association and the Indonesian Shopping Complexes Management Association -- Stefanus Ridwan said the businesspeople would lodge a legal complaint over the bylaw at the Jakarta State Administrative Court.
However, Budihardjo said filing a complaint was unnecessary because "when the bylaw was drafted we invited several parties to give their input".
According to Ali, the administration has the right to control parking in the city and could even take the extreme step of prohibiting parking operators from collecting payment.
"But we (decided to) take a moderate step by offering two possibilities; namely running free-of-charge parking services or setting up paid parking facilities with several regulations," the councilor said.
He said that although the council was ready to face the lawsuit, the businesspeople's decision was improper because the newly enacted bylaw could not be brought before the administrative court.
"The bylaw is not a legal product which is subject to the administrative court," Ali said.
He said it would be better to offer free parking so firms would not be burdened by the obligation to share their parking revenue with the administration.
"Moreover, parking has never been included as income for the core businesses of many companies because it (parking) is merely facilities at malls, hotels, offices and other buildings.
"So it is fair if the parking is free," Ali said.
A lawyer from the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute, Waskito Adiribowo, agreed with Ali that the bylaw was not subject to the administrative court because it dealt with the public's interests.
"Administrative courts only handle legal products from government officials which affect an individual or firm," he said. (ind)