'Bahasa' names for housing estates better

'Bahasa' names for housing estates better

JAKARTA (JP): The Ciputra Group has decided to change the names of its housing estates Citra Garden in West Jakarta to Citra Taman, and Citra Grand City in Tangerang to Citra Raya, while the new name for the CitraLand Mall and Hotel in West Jakarta will be Hotel dan Mal CitraLand.

Housing tycoon Ciputra told The Jakarta Post in an interview yesterday that the decision to change the names was taken in response to the government's intensive campaign on the use of Bahasa Indonesia for the names of housing estates.

Minister of Education and Culture Wardiman Djojonegoro, Minister of Public Housing Akbar Tanjung and Minister of Agrarian Affairs Soni Harsono, as well as the governors of Indonesia's 27 provinces called recently for members of the Indonesian Real Estate Association (REI) to change the Western names of their housing estates, he said.

According to Ciputra, the Minister of Education and Culture, an expert team led by noted linguist Anton Mulyono and the association then made an agreement on the subject.

Association members are also advised to change the Western names of commercial buildings, but the priority of the campaign is on housing estates.

"However, we have not changed the name of CitraLand because it is our trademark," Ciputra said.

He added that the government did not mind Western names for hotels.

Many developers give their housing estates Western names, such as Legend City, Bintaro Regency, Green Garden, Lippo Village and Kemang River View. More English names are found in condominiums, apartment blocks and other commercial estates like the Beverly Towers condominium, Park Royal and Green View apartments and the Atrium shopping center. (sim)