Flaunting the rules
Flaunting the rules
The new Mulia Hotel and the chic cafes dotting Jl. Kemang Raya
both flaunt Jakarta's zoning rules. Both are major tests for the
city administration. At stake are its integrity and public image.
How it handles, and resolves, these problems could determine how
much public respect and support the administration can count on
in the future. They are litmus tests for new Governor Sutiyoso,
and the success of his leadership in the next five years could
hinge on this.
Mulia Hotel and the Kemang cafes deviate from Jakarta's city
planning. The 40-story Mulia Hotel is built in the Senayan
district which is intended for sports facilities. The original
plan had been for an athletes village with a building no taller
than four stories. The cafes on Jl. Kemang Raya should not be
there either. Kemang, according to the city planning, has been
designated as a residential area.
But that is where any similarity between the two ends.
In the case of Mulia Hotel, there was a clear intention from
the start to flaunt zoning rules, apparently even with the
consent of some agencies in the administration. Somebody in the
administration had given the go ahead for the developer to build
a 16-story hotel. The contractor went further, and turned it into
a 40-story building. Hotel Mulia was inaugurated by President
Soeharto in time for last month's Southeast Asian Games, and was
a showpiece structure of the Games. The scandal behind the
construction only surfaced to the public after the Games
finished.
In the case of the Kemang cafes, that intent of breaking the
rules is missing. Cafe owners and administration officials alike
appeared to have accepted that the presence of these chic
eateries were legitimate because they had the necessary licenses.
There have been no complaints from residents as the main road
gradually turned into one of Jakarta's favorite night spots over
the years.
It was only in March that the administration became aware of
the existing zoning rules. The administration, then still under
Governor Surjadi Soedirdja, vowed to close the cafes and restore
Kemang to its original function. A few small eateries and shops
have been sealed by the administration since then. But should
cafe owners, who have invested heavily and are employing hundreds
of people, be punished for an oversight by the administration?
Governor Sutiyoso now appears to have conceded that the Kemang
businesses can stay open, and city planning would be adjusted
accordingly to make the district into a limited commercial zone.
The city administration appears to have also accepted that
Mulia Hotel's 40-story building is here to stay, provided it pays
a fine. The developer has accepted the blame and is ready to pay
the penalty. But the problem does not end there. Work already has
begun on the construction of a second tower adjacent to the hotel
by the same developer. From the name "tower", one can assume that
it is yet another high-rise building, therefore making it another
conscious violation of the zoning rules.
In the popular Monopoly board game, a player who goes to jail
can pay a fine and continue playing, or else miss one or two
turns. The developer of the new tower is doing just that. Break
the rule again, pay the fine, and continue the construction.
The way that the Mulia Hotel developer flaunts zoning rules
says a lot about the sorry state of the city's regulations, and
the administration's seeming inability to enforce them. Sure,
rules are meant to be broken, but rules are also meant to be
enforced -- and the punishment that comes with those rules is
also meant to be applied and to deter future violations. One can
only wait in wonder how the administration will get out of this
one without losing too much face.