Businesses near the House on the brink of collapse

By Ida Indawati Khouw

JAKARTA (JP): Businesses in the vicinity of the People's Consultative Assembly/House of Representatives (MPR/DPR) building have been on the brink of collapse as streets leading to the area were often sealed due to rallies, according to their operators.

Interviewed by The Jakarta Post on Thursday, executives of Pulau Dua seafood restaurant and Taman Ria Senayan recreation park -- two of the few places in the area -- said they have already suffered a total of Rp 170 million in financial losses in seven consecutive days alone since Nov. 10, the first day of the MPR Special Session.

"If the current situation continues for the next one to two months, I think all businesses here will go bankrupt as all access to this area here is always blocked every time protesters intend to march to the nearby MPR/DPR building," Johny Nicholas, operations manager of Pulau Dua restaurant management PT Indotama Karsa Jaya, said.

Expressing the same concern, Indra Darusman, senior marketing manager of Taman Ria Senayan recreation park management PT Armo Cipta Intersarana, added that the current unfavorable situation has further undermined their businesses after they were badly hit by the ongoing economic crisis.

"Now, we have to face another bad situation again," he said.

The closure of the streets in the area heading to part of Jl. Gatot Subroto in front of the MPR/DPR compound was designed to drive protesters away from the Assembly building.

Due to the escalating number of protests, the street blockade was put up several days before and after the four-day session and depended upon the on-the-spot situation.

Violent incidents at the Semanggi cloverleaf and Slipi intersection -- two of the several roadblock points -- cost the lives of 11 people on Nov. 12 and 13.

Most of the streets heading to the MPR/DPR building have been open since Wednesday although some of them were sometimes abruptly closed shortly after reports of the appearance of protesters.

According to Johny of Pulau Dua, the restaurant lost at least Rp 10 million per day on average during the unfavorable days.

Sometimes, he said, the management itself made the decision to temporarily close the restaurant during last week's session in fear of any possible unrest, he said.

"Within a week, we lost some Rp 70 million," Johny said.

According to him, the 240-seat restaurant offering a vast choice of seafood cuisine in Indonesian and Chinese styles also often hosted press conferences and other business meetings.

Under normal conditions, he said, the restaurant located next to the Taman Ria park served 200 to 300 customers on working days and some 500 guests at weekends.

On average, each customer spends about Rp 25,000 for their dining, Johny added.

"Actually, the restaurant has been open since Monday (Nov. 16) even though only for half day and is always ready at anytime to close down if the outside situation gets worse," he said.

The worsening financial condition has also been experienced by the management of Taman Ria Senayan recreation park, an entertainment, leisure, and retail complex.

According to Indra, PT Armo Cipta Intersarana had lost Rp 100 million in the past seven days.

The revenues of the 20 restaurants inside the complex had drastically dropped from between Rp 10 million and Rp 15 million to only Rp 300,000 during the tough period, he explained.

"We've indeed resumed our business but are still on alert to anticipate the worst," Indra said.

The park opened on Thursday but was extremely quiet with only scores of security personnel seen at its vast 11-hectare compound, which is owned by the Ria Pembangunan Foundation, run by the wives of Armed Forces members.

Since 1995, the land has been rented out to be managed for 20 years by PT Ariobimo Perkasa, a subsidiary of the Humpuss group controlled by former president Soeharto's youngest son Hutomo Mandala Putra.

With ticket prices at Rp 8,000 (working days) and Rp 14,900 (holidays), the park normally receives 3,000 visitors on holidays and 2,000 on working days, Indra said.

Besides the restaurant and the park, the street blockade also affected businesses at Manggala Wanabhakti, the other building closest to the MPR/DPR complex.

Operators of several restaurants, business offices and a fitness center at Manggala temporarily closed their businesses during the troubled days.

The amount of financial losses suffered by the businesses located adjacent to the MPR/DPR building is of course lower than those faced by, for example, the state-owned toll road management PT Jasa Marga and public transportation owners.

Jasa Marga reportedly lost some Rp 1.3 billion as most of the toll roads in the capital were also blockaded.

But there's no option for the business operators around the MPR/DPR building other than praying for better days.

"I hope that the situation will return to normal soon," Indra said.

Johny said he hoped that the government could accommodate the people's aspirations so that the situation would be back to normal and business could run again. (ind)