Beautifying Monas park

Beautifying Monas park

Two years ago, Governor Sutiyoso came under fire for his
determination to give the National Monument (Monas) park a
makeover by erecting a four-kilometer steel fence around the park
to keep the hawkers out.

He continued to press ahead with his drive to make the park
cleaner and more orderly by prohibiting littering. Then he
released a number of deer in his efforts to make the park even
more attractive.

Today, the park is better illuminated at night, and the street
walkers, who used to be such a distinctive feature of the park,
have disappeared. In short, the capital's only park worthy of the
name is now cleaner and more attractive, although most people
hope that the fence will be removed someday soon to show that the
park is really a place meant for the public.

Without any fanfare, the city administration is currently
developing another attraction in Monas park -- a synchronized
"dancing" fountain.

The US$2.7 million fountain, which it is said will be similar
to the Las Vegas Bellagio fountain, was supposed to have been
completed and inaugurated on June 22 to coincide with the
celebrations marking Jakarta's 478th anniversary. Due to various
problems, the fountain will now be inaugurated on July 28.

The sprucing up of Monas park has been a notable advance in
the effort to provide people with at least some quality green
space, given that the overall area of green spaces in the capital
continues to shrink. The administration says it has made many
efforts to preserve green and open spaces. Unfortunately, the
proliferation of malls and hypermarkets around the city belie the
administration's statements in this regard.

Based on the city's 2000-2010 master plan, the administration
says it wants to set aside a total of around 9,155 hectares, or
almost 14 percent of the capital's area of 65,680 hectares, as
open and green spaces by 2010. However, so far it has only
managed to set aside less then 6,000 hectares, or only some 9
percent of the capital city's land area.

Meanwhile, an official regreening campaign -- launched last
year -- as part of which people are urged to plant fruit trees on
vacant land has yet to show much success.

Criticism of the city administration's commitment toward
improving the green-space-to-total-area ratio in Jakarta has been
widespread. Environmentalists have expressed deep concern about
the way in which the city is being stripped of vegetation, which
had resulted in the degradation of air and groundwater quality.

Many see the administration as being obsessed with shopping
malls. With per capita income in Jakarta standing at
approximately Rp 30 million (around US$3,500) per annum, the
administration apparently believes that Jakartans' relatively
high purchasing power needs to be milked to the maximum. This
is one of the main reasons why more malls and hypermarkets are
being constructed.

Figures from last year show that the city has at least 150
traditional or wet markets (managed by the Jakarta
administration-owned PD Pasar Jaya), 73 shopping malls, six
wholesale stores, 116 department stores and 125 supermarkets.
Nevertheless, these are considered inadequate to satisfactorily
relieve well-heeled Jakartans of their cash.

A respected international consultant forecast in 2002 that at
least 800,000 square meters of new shopping centers would be
constructed in Greater Jakarta between late 2002 and 2005.

Against a backdrop of an increasingly difficult city to live
in, Jakarta people are in dire of more green and open spaces so
that they can escape, albeit temporarily, from the urban jungle
that Jakarta has become. Our children, who have long been using
malls and shopping centers for recreation, need to be provided
with places where they can relax in the shade of trees, play
games on the grass, and enjoy the scents and smells that only
nature can provide.

People need more open, green spaces as recreational spots for
families. They can also interact with other people in the park at
the same time. In addition, parks do not function only as
recreation spots, but also serve as the "lungs" of the capital
city.

Therefore, making Monas park more beautiful, more secure and
more orderly so that families can enjoy their leisure time there
deserves support. However, beautifying Monas park is only one of
the many tasks that the administration must tackle in order to
provide residents with an adequate number of green spaces.

Many may say that it is far too late to remedy the current
woeful situation, but doing something useful is much better than
doing nothing at all. It's now or never. Jakarta people want to
see the administration keep its word and provide more green
spaces as promised. Otherwise, living in Jakarta will only become
even more intolerable.