Damage to Monas regretted

Damage to Monas regretted

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The National Monument (Monas) park was dirty and in poor shape
on Monday with parts of the pavement damaged and the grass
trampled after an exhibition on regional autonomy that took place
on the site.

Worse still, the week-long event, which should have ended on
Sunday, was still open on Monday.

Councillor Posman Siahaan of the Justice and Unity Party
regretted the damage. He said that the city administration would
have to spend a huge sum of money from the city budget to repair
it.

Posman, who is also a member of the City Council's Commission
A for administrative affairs, urged the revocation of
Gubernatorial Decree No. 158/2000 on management of Monas park,
which allows exhibitions to be held in the park.

The regulation appears to contradict the government's efforts
to make Monas park part of the city's green areas.

Despite the objection of the City Council, Governor Sutiyoso
allowed PT Samudera Nira Peraga to hold the regional autonomy
expo on the condition that it was only "temporary".

Separately, the Central Jakarta Mayor Hosea Petra Lumbun said
the administration would not allow other exhibitions in the park
after the autonomy exhibition was over.

But he refused to comment on the fact that the exhibition,
which should have ended on Sunday, still continued on Monday.

"I will check that. But there will definitely be no more
exhibitions after this one," he said.

He also said that the organizer had deposited Rp 100 million
(US$10,000) to cover damages to the park due to the exhibition.

"We will ask for more money if the repairs to the park cost
more than Rp 100 million," he said.