City ready to revise bylaw on markets
City ready to revise bylaw on markets
Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The city administration, under pressure by businessmen, is likely
to revise a bylaw requiring owners of supermarkets and shopping
malls to allocate between 10 percent and 20 percent of their
space to small and medium enterprises (SME).
Chairman of the Indonesian Shopping Centers Association M.
Sjohirin claimed that Governor Sutiyoso had shown readiness to
review the bylaw No. 2/2002 on markets.
"If a law can be revised, why can't the bylaw," Sutiyoso said,
as quoted by Sjohirin, after a meeting with the association at
the City Hall on Tuesday.
Sjohirin said that the obligation to apportion up to 20
percent of the space in shopping malls and supermarkets to SMEs
was a burden to the owners.
The bylaw states that the owners of shopping centers with an
area of between 200 square meters (sqm) and 500 sqm should set
apart 10 percent of the space for SMEs, and shopping centers with
an area of over 500 sqm should set apart 20 percent of the space
for SMEs.
The allocated space cannot be compensated for with money.
Previously owners could compensate for allocated space with
money but reports have indicated that the compensation money was
often misused.
A city spokesman, Muhayat, said that the compensation would be
useful in helping to recover the economy.
According to him, the money could be used for various programs
including the construction of showrooms or galleries to display
SMEs' merchandise.
"Pak (the Governor) Sutiyoso said that we must be realistic.
If the bylaw is deemed ineffective, it should be revised on the
condition that the compensation money is well managed," he said.
Sofjan Wanandi, one of the businessmen attending Tuesday's
meeting, told the press that there had already been an agreement
between businessmen and Sutiyoso on the construction of a
showroom or gallery for SMEs.
According to Sofjan, the governor will allocate five hectares
of land in Waduk Melati, Central Jakarta, for the planned
showroom.
He added that the construction of the showroom could begin as
early as next year.
City councillors disagreed with plans to revise the bylaw,
saying that the 2002 bylaw was part of a joint commitment between
the administration and the council to help SMEs.
The chairman of the Justice Party (PK) faction at the city
council Ahmad Heryawan stressed that the bylaw had been issued to
prevent money being compensated for the allocated space.
"We should not forget the history -- the bylaw was created
because the use of the compensation money was not clear and there
was no transparency in its management," Heryawan said.