'Don't convert Menteng stadium into park'
The city administration has decided to convert the Menteng Soccer Field into a city park that would also include cafes and jogging tracks. The move, however, has drawn opposition from noted public figures and scholars who believe that the stadium should be preserved for its historic value. The Jakarta Post interviewed residents to get their comments on the proposal.
Choki, 32, is an insurance company employee in Central Jakarta. He lives with his wife and children in Petamburan, also in Central Jakarta.
I have a son and I want him to grow healthy and fit. I think it would be great for him to play and exercise in a big sports center, like the Menteng soccer field. Such a stadium will encourage him to do more sporting activity.
I am afraid that if we just let the administration turn the Menteng field into a park or business center, they will do the same with other centers in other parts of the city. They think that they can just do whatever they want without any resistance.
We must fight hard before they change the center. It will set an example for the next time that they want to turn a sports center into a park, mall, or office building, and let them know they will face a tough battle.
Dian, 34, is an employee of a property agency in South Jakarta. She lives with her husband and daughter in Cijantung, East Jakarta.
I am suspicious about the motives of the city administration's decision to turn the Menteng stadium into a park. I don't think they have sincere intentions to turn the sport center into a park.
I think they just want to fool us, because why all of a sudden do they want to do this? There is nothing wrong with the environment in Menteng. I see that the area is green.
The real purpose, I think, is to turn it into an office compound or mall to get more benefit, but to avoid public resistance they keep saying that it's for a park.
Moreover, where else could they get free land that could be turned into a business center? Imagine, how much is the price of land in Menteng? It is a huge project for officials at the administration with huge amounts of cash already in their faces.
--The Jakarta Post