Don's exploit names of national heroes: Official

JAKARTA (JP): An official of the city administration warned businessmen on Wednesday not to use names of national heroes for commercial purposes, including in companies' names.

Priyono, head of the City Security and Order Office, said that the city administration will soon launch an operation to clear up company plaques and billboards throughout the city bearing names of national heroes.

Priyono told reporters that the office is currently collecting data on companies using the names of national heroes, including Gajah Mada Motor, Bakmi Gajah Mada and Pusat Perbelanjaan Jayakarta.

The data collection is being conducted jointly with officers of the City Tourism Office and the City Revenues Office, he said.

Priyono said that this operation is aimed mainly at preventing further misuse of such names. "It is not impossible that someday there will be 'Hayam Wuruk Massage Parlor' if no action is taken today," he said.

He said that the operation is part of the national discipline drive and is based on the Instruction of Minister of Home Affairs No. 433/1840/SJ, dated May 30, 1995.

He said that the operation will be conducted in stages and will include informing the public about the program, asking the owners of companies using names of heroes to change their company names and forcefully dismantling company plagues if they fail to change their names and remove the plaques.

In a related development, chairman of the City Council's Commission A in charge of administration, security and public order, Mohammad Aman, reiterated that the national heroes' names must not be used recklessly for commercial purposes.

"If the names are used to indicate the names of roads, they must be stated clearly," Aman, who was accompanied by the commission's secretary Abdoelhamid Notowidagdo, said.

He said that a clear notice like "Jl. Hayam Wuruk", for example, will prevent misuse of the names.

In response to questions raised by reporters on the ongoing operation to fight against foreign languages used in billboards and company titles in the city, Priyono said that his officers had covered 909 foreign-language billboards, company plaques and other displays with white cloth in the period between Aug. 1 and Aug. 10.

The city administration has set Aug. 16 as the deadline for the use of the Indonesian language in all public notices and company plagues. After the deadline all billboards and plagues with foreign words in them will be dismantled.

He said that the 909 billboards and plagues were found in areas ranging from Blok M in South Jakarta to Pasar Ikan in West Jakarta, at Jl. Matraman Raya, Jl. Pramuka and Jl. Pemuda in East Jakarta as well as at Jl. Boulevard Kelapa Gading in North Jakarta.

Priyono disclosed that the operation to wipe out foreign names was conducted jointly with private firm PT Bina Cipta Sarana Makmur.

In response to the aggressive campaign to use Indonesian names properly, 150 real estate developers grouped in the Association of Indonesian Real Estate Developers simultaneously changed the names of their real estate projects which were in foreign languages, into Indonesian names on Aug. 10, in a ceremony attended by Minister of Public Housing Akbar Tandjung, Minister of Education and Culture Wardiman Djojonegoro as well as the chairman of the association Enggartiasto Lukita. (32/yns)