Dasco Hopes State Secretariat Ministry Will Accommodate Former Hotel Sultan Employees

Deputy House Speaker Sufmi Dasco Ahmad expressed hope that the State Secretariat Ministry (Kemensesneg) would accommodate former employees of Hotel Sultan after taking over management of the hotel on Thursday (18/6). “We certainly hope that the management to be carried out by Kemensesneg will also provide a place for the employees who have been working there all this time,” Dasco said at the parliamentary complex. Dasco therefore said his side would immediately coordinate with the State Secretary on the matter. “I hope and will coordinate with the State Secretariat Ministry,” he said.

Separately, the government, through Deputy Minister of the State Secretariat (Wamensesneg) Juri Ardiantoro, asked the Gelora Bung Karno Complex Management Centre (PPKGBK) to register and pay attention to the fate of the affected employees. He said the former employees would be invited for communication. He opened the possibility that they could continue to work at GBK. “We from the State Secretariat Ministry ask PPKGBK not only to register, but to truly look after the fate of these Hotel Sultan employees. So the point is we do not want them to become the sacrificed party after this asset takeover,” Juri said at Hotel Sultan, Jakarta.

The execution of the Hotel Sultan eviction was marked by unrest. Masses opposing the execution threw stones and mineral water bottles at officers. Officers responded by spraying the crowd with a water cannon. A total of 119 people were arrested by police as a result of the clashes. In addition, 29 people were reported injured due to the unrest, including National Police and Indonesian National Armed Forces personnel as well as civilians. However, the authorities eventually managed to quell the situation, and the hotel takeover was carried out.