City plans to erect Diponegoro statue

JAKARTA: After erecting a statue of Gen. Sudirman, which proved controversial, the city administration is now planning another, of national hero Diponegoro, an official said on Tuesday.

The statue is to be located on the median strip in front of the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) office, on Jl. Diponegoro, Menteng, City Parks Agency head Sarwo Handhayani said.

Sarwo and said property giant Ciputra would finance the construction.

"The statue to be made of bronze is now being designed in Yogyakarta," he said.

Unlike the construction of the Gen. Sudirman statue, the Diponegoro statue, worth a planned Rp 10 billion (US$1.08 million), will not be built in return for advertising space.

Critics have said the administration has allocated too much money towards beautification projects while failing to address essential infrastructure, including housing for the poor and flood mitigation works. -- JP