Fashionable Kemang

Fashionable Kemang

More by accident than by design, Kemang has developed this
past decade to become undoubtedly the most fashionable area of
Metropolitan Jakarta. The 30 or so theme restaurants and cafes
dotting the tree-lined Jl. Bangka and Jl. Kemang Raya have turned
the South Jakarta district into a popular hang out for the city's
rich and famous, as well as the rich-and famous-wannabees.

Every night, hundreds of celebrities, businesspeople, artists,
intellectuals, professionals and university students, some of
them in their flashy cars, flock to Kemang. If one is to look for
its equivalent, Kemang is what Greenwich Village is to Manhattan,
or Chelsea is to London. A Kemang frequenter has likened it to
Melrose Place, a popular TV soap opera named after a chic area in
Los Angeles.

But if the city authorities have their way, this development
will soon be stopped in its tracks. According to news reports
this week, Jakarta Governor Surjadi Soedirdja has called for a
complete halt on new construction plans in Kemang; and he wants a
thorough review of all the building permits issued for commercial
establishments along Jl. Bangka and Jl. Kemang Raya.

The decision came after it was learned that 90 percent of all
buildings in the two main roads have been turned into commercial
establishments, mostly restaurants and cafes, but also an
assortment of art and curio shops and supermarkets. This is in
violation of the ordinance designating Kemang as a residential
area. Under the ordinance, only a maximum of 15 percent of the
area could be used for commercial purposes.

The proliferation of restaurants and cafes is also seen as
threatening the role of Kemang as a water catchment area, vital
for the survival of Jakarta. Many of these establishments have
converted green areas of their plots into parking lots. There are
other reasons cited by the authorities for restoring Kemang's
status as a residential area. Surjadi cited the presence of
drunks disrupting the neighborhood at night, and that residents
no longer feel safe. Growing traffic has also been mentioned.

Falling short of drastic actions, the administration has made
it clear that it will not extend the operating licenses of some
of the restaurants and cafes, which are renewable each year.

Kemang's future, so it seems, is already determined, or
doomed. This is a sad for Jakarta. One could argue that Kemang is
performing a role that no other area in the city could replace,
at least not in the near future: a place for socializing among
the city's elites. Few drunks, if indeed they do venture into the
streets, and the traffic congestions seem small prices to pay if
one consider the social function that Kemang is performing.
Judging from the press reports, Kemang is no more or less prone
to crime than other areas in Jakarta.

The Kemang affair, if anything, has exposed the weak
supervision of the administration. Governor Surjadi was the first
to admit that the violations were committed by his office which
issued building permits in spite of an ordinance limiting
commercial establishments. Restaurant and cafe owners feel their
presence and businesses are legitimate for they hold building and
operating licenses.

But such violations are not limited to Kemang. There are far
graver violations in the way the administration has been issuing
building permits elsewhere in Jakarta that deserve greater
attention than Kemang. In the case of Kemang, it is probably
worth considering the social function that it has come to play
and contribute to Metropolitan Jakarta, before the authorities
move with its plan to restore it to the original function.