JP/3/GRAHA/0

JP/3/GRAHA/0

City Council demands hotel preservation

JAKARTA (JP): The City Council has asked the Jakarta
administration not to sell the state-owned Graha Wisata Mahasiswa
building in Kuningan, South Jakarta.

"Although it is deserted and looks dreary compared to other
buildings in the neighborhood, it should be maintained," said
vice-chairman Fatommy Assary who visited the building on
Thursday.

According to Fatommy, the municipality should renovate the
building and make a managerial adjustment.

Graha Wisata Mahasiswa, literally the house of visiting
students, was built in 1976 to be a hostel for both local and
foreign students touring Jakarta. It has currently 58 rooms with
244 beds.

Councilor Romulus Sihombing, however, blasted the management
for failing to keep the building clean, saying that the Jakarta
administration has subsidized the management of the building for
years.

Romulus noted that the management should run the hostel
professionally just like the private-run hotels in the area, even
though it functions only for social purposes.

He said that mismanagement has made the building's appearance
awful.

Ms. Zulfia Sanusi, the manager of the building said that the
management paid Rp 176 million (about US$818,000) to the Jakarta
administration in 1993/1994 fiscal year.

Zulfia noted that the amount had increased by 80 percent from
last year's earnings and that the maintenance of the building
would improve soon.

According to her, in 1993 some 4,000 youngsters and 5,000
guests stayed the night in the hostel. (09)