Hotel Mulia 'not bound to sports development'

JAKARTA (JP): The management of Hotel Mulia Senayan has justified its proposed room rates for participants in the Indonesia Open badminton championships, arguing it has no black- and-white commitment to promote national sports development.

A hotel director, Enggartiasto Lukita, told reporters on Tuesday that the management had never signed an agreement either with the National Sports Council, the State Minister of Youth Affairs or Sports Office or the Gelora Senayan management board on its role in the sports world.

"There wasn't any kind of such an agreement, but an informal talk in which we would accommodate athletes participating in future multisports events," Enggartiasto said.

"We built the hotel just to accommodate participants of the 19th SEA Games, not for the sake of national sports."

Enggartiasto was responding to a comment of the state minister of youth affairs and sports, Agung Laksono, who called on the hotel management to keep a commitment to offer economic room rates to athletes.

The Badminton Association of Indonesia complained last week that the hotel's rate was too high for it to accommodate players competing in the Indonesia Open later this month.

The Hotel Mulia is offering US$45 net per room per night inclusive of a three meals a day. Hotel Indonesia offers between Rp 192,000 (US$18) and Rp 306,000 net per room per night, inclusive of three meals daily.

Agung's predecessor, Hayono Isman, admitted separately that according to the contract, the hotel was not bound to provide inexpensive rooms for athletes after the 19th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games were over.

"But the hotel management and the government could renegotiate the deal. It will be better for the hotel itself, because it at least will get income," said Hayono, who served as a minister from 1993 to last March.

Enggartiasto, also a member of the SEA Games underwriting consortium, said the hotel management would consider adopting a special tariff policy for athletes, but added that it would be applied at its discretion.

Fine

The 40-story Hotel Mulia was built by the consortium, chaired by a son of former president Soeharto, Bambang Trihatmodjo.

Its construction whipped up huge controversy. It violated height restrictions in the area, lacks green areas, obstructed public thoroughfares and caused traffic congestion along nearby roads.

The city administration has granted a 25 percent cut on the hotel's Rp 20.5 billion fine for violating 1975 bylaw No. 4 on high-rise buildings and 1985 bylaw No. 9 on building height regulations.

Hayono contended the administration could not fine the hotel because it was built based on a presidential instruction, under which it was permitted to contravene city regulations "for the country's interest at that moment".

"The administration must obey the instruction saying that the consortium and the Hotel Mulia management are given facilities to build the hotel as the SEA Games athletes' village," Hayono said.

He added the fine could be imposed only if the hotel management was to go ahead with its plan to build a 56-story tower near the existing hotel.

Enggartiasto declined to comment on the fine, but said the $260-million hotel needed about Rp 2 billion to cover its routine operational costs every month. (yan)