Jakartans still visit malls despite bombings

JAKARTA (JP): It was business as usual as people shopped and browsed in shopping malls on Thursday morning, seemingly indifferent to the bomb explosion at the Atrium Plaza in Senen, Central Jakarta, the night before.

Due the recent spate of bombings that rocked the capital and other cities in the country, Jakartans today seem to be rather desensitized by such news.

Not that they can no longer be shocked, but the public today are simply not paying a lot of attention to such incidence.

"I don't feel frightened, maybe because the bombings have been quite frequent now," Farida Pulungan, a resident of Cempaka Putih, Central Jakarta, told The Jakarta Post while shopping at Plaza Senayan.

"I'm not shocked anymore. I do worry sometimes when I make plans to go out, but not enough to stop me from going to the mall," she said.

Another shopper at Plaza Indonesia, Kristina Dwilia, said she was horrified when she heard about the bomb attack at the Atrium Plaza but it did not worry her that much.

Saiful who lives in Setiabudi, South Jakarta, said he would continue shopping in malls but would be more selective of which malls he visits.

The capital has been the target of no less than six bomb attacks in the past month.

The latest attack occurred at the Atrium Plaza when a bomb exploded on Wednesday night, injuring at least six people.

A bomb also went off on July 22 at Santa Anna Church in Duren Sawit, East Jakarta, injuring at least 70 people.

Thus far, police have uncovered little in their investigations and merely blamed "terrorists" for the wave of attacks.

The explosion at the Atrium Plaza, however, was the first such attack on a shopping mall in Jakarta.

But it seemed to do little in denting Jakartans enthusiasm to visit these air-conditioned shopping centers, which have also evolved to become popular recreation spots in the capital.

There was no drastic drop in patrons nor was there tighter security at the malls.

"We believe our current security procedure is adequate. However, we will be more alert to suspicious looking objects and people," said Untung Wicaksono, human resources manager of Plaza Indonesia.

The same was the case with Plaza Senayan shopping mall.

"According to our standard security procedure, we comb our premises at least three times a day for suspicious looking objects. At the moment we don't have any plans to increase our security," Diah Malhayati, Plaza Senayan's deputy head of the security department, told the Post. (06)