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.