Hotel, building owners gear up for bombings

Hotel, building owners gear up for bombings

JAKARTA (JP): While no one can predict when and which
buildings could be bomb targets, operators and management of
buildings and hotels in the capital have taken preemptive and
responsive measures in anticipation of such acts of terror.

General affairs and public relations officials at several
hotels and buildings in Jakarta told The Jakarta Post in separate
interviews on Thursday and Friday that duty officials, visitors
and tenants had been informed of standard procedures they must
follow if a bomb attack occurs.

"Our hotel staff have been given regular refresher training
courses dealing with emergency situations every three months
since mid-1998," Ria Leimena, spokeswoman for the Mandarin
Oriental Hotel on Jl. Sudirman in Central Jakarta, said.

She was referring to the period since the downfall of former
president Soeharto in May 1998.

Supri, an employee in the general affairs department at the
Deutsche Bank building on Jl. Imam Bonjol in Central Jakarta,
said the building management had instructed all employees to be
wary of any possible incidents. "We have increased our internal
security measures."

Ninok Zaenah, an employee in the administration section of
Chase Manhattan Bank, which occupies Chase Plaza on Jl. Sudirman
in Central Jakarta, echoed Supri, saying the building management
had alerted employees to remain alert.

"If we receive a bomb threat we'll immediately call the
police," she said.

Herny Sunarya, the public relation manager at Hotel Indonesia,
and Memet Tirtaatmadja, the hotel's safety and security manager,
said the hotel had alerted all employees to prepare for possible
bomb threats and attacks.

"The hotel management has instructed all employees to remain
wary of anything unattended or placed around the hotel," Herny
said on Friday.

Memet said security staff had implemented patrols of all
floors every one or two hours.

Herny said every employee was obliged to inform security if
they found anything suspicious. "If an employee finds something
suspicious, he or she has to inform the security post at once."

She also said the hotel was providing a 24-hour team of guards
although the hotel had not yet received any bomb threats.

Sandra Djohan, the public relation manager of the Grand Hyatt
Hotel, said the hotel's management had increased internal
security.

"Since the bomb blast at the Philippine envoy's residence
early last month, we have implemented very tight security around
the hotel and Plaza Indonesia."

All the hotel staff have been instructed to pay extra
attention to anything suspicious, including cars and even common
things around the corners of the building, without making guests
feel inconvenienced, she said.

"We also told our staff to improve their vigilance ... even
though there has been no such threats to the hotel," she said.

She said the four recent bomb blasts in the capital had not
affected the hotel's occupancy rate.

"The guests usually ask about the hotel's safety, and we
always give them information and guidance during their stay at
the hotel," she said.

A bomb exploded at the Attorney General's Office on July 4.
There were no casualties in the incident.

A second explosion rocked the residence of Philippine
Ambassador Leonides T. Caday on Aug. 1, killing two people and
injuring 21 others, including the ambassador.

A public minibus parked on Jl. Taman Margasatwa in Ragunan,
South Jakarta, was hit by an explosion at midnight on Aug. 30,
the night before former president Soeharto's graft trial was set
to open.

The fourth explosion rocked the Jakarta Stock Exchange
building in South Jakarta on Wednesday, killing at least 10
people and wounding dozens others.

Fathiah Syarif, the public relations manager at the Hilton
Hotel, said the hotel had not taken any special measures
following the bombings.

"Everything is just as usual," Fathiah said. "However, we
always monitor information of any incidents outside the hotel."

"Our employees are also told to remain watchful of any
security disturbances and of any unattended and abandoned items
in the hotel."

Fathiah said the bombings had not impacted the hotel's
occupancy rate. (01/imn)