Council questions hypermarkets

JAKARTA: In response to a protest by the Association of Indonesian Traditional Market Traders over the presence of hypermarkets in the capital, the City Council plans to meet with city administrators.

"We want them to explain why hypermarkets are allowed to locate next to traditional markets. We want the regulation on hypermarkets to be reviewed, so their presence will not kill off market vendors," Nurmansjah Lubis, deputy chairman of Commission B for development issues, said on Thursday.

City Bylaw No. 2/2002 on markets says that hypermarkets must be located at least 2.5 kilometers from the nearest traditional market.

"But as we can see, many hypermarkets are just across the street from traditional markets," he said. -- JP