Administration ready to face parking complaint
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)