Last open spaces up for sale

The planned sale of property at Cibubur camping ground in East Jakarta has sparked controversy. It is only one of a number of cases which illustrate how the Jakarta administration sacrifices the city's green and open spaces for commercial purposes. The Jakarta Post's Rita A.Widiadana, Ida Indawati Khouw, Maria Endah Hulupi and Imelda Anwar explore the issue. Noted urbanist Marco Kusumawijaya also contributes his ideas.

JAKARTA (JP): Every Saturday and Sunday, hundreds of school students, scout members and holidaymakers flock to the Cibubur camping ground in East Jakarta to get a taste of nature.

For only Rp 1,000, they can happily spend their weekend camping at the site, canoeing on a pond, cycling, jogging or participating in various other outdoor activities available at the shady and pristine camping ground, now named after the late Mrs. Tien Soeharto, wife of former president Soeharto, herself an avid scout patron.

Easily accessible from the Jagorawi toll road, the Cibubur camping site has been a perfect holiday spot for the youth who love nature and the "have-nots" who cannot afford going to discos or exclusive golf courses and sports centers.

"I'm looking forward to going camping in the next school holiday on March 12," said Dinda, a scout member.

In the past, if you were hungry, you could only get ketoprak, mixed vegetables poured with coconut dressing or cheap mie ayam, chicken with noodles. Now, the famous franchise restaurants like MacDonald's, Pizza Hut, Dunkin' Donuts and ample other restaurants and cafes are ready to delight your appetite while camping at the site.

In the coming months, if approved, this once pristine camping ground will boast an international-scale hyper mall, a concert hall and various exclusive establishments to cater for the visitors and nearby residents of adjacent exclusive housing estates like Kota Legenda Wisata, Rafflesia and Bukit Permai. What a wonderful scenario--at least for the planned developer, PT Kurnia Philio Selaras, which bought a 3.2 hectare plot of land in the Cibubur complex from the city-owned PT Pembangunan Sarana Jaya.

Syaukat Banjaransari, head of the National Scout Board, has expressed his concern over the plan. "We don't have any power to stop the project, but don't they realize that it will affect scout and youth activities which are supposed to promote training and self-discipline," he said, adding he is afraid that young people will prefer hanging out and chatting in the planned shopping mall.

For urbanists and environmentalists, the proposed project is also a disaster as the camp site has been designated as the city's greenery and open space needed to help prevent flooding and to function as the city's "lungs".

Professor Bianpoen, an environment expert at the University of Indonesia's postgraduate course, sees the plan as a deceitful action by the city authority.

"It is their right to sell any of the government's property provided that they report it to the city legislative council and other related parties," the professor said.

However, they have not realized the serious impact on society and the environment which may arise from this land appropriation.

PT Pembangunan Sarana Jaya reportedly sold the land to a private investor to pay its huge debt. Justifying its action, the company's top management still denied any wrongdoing in selling the Cibubur land when they were questioned last Thursday by the City Inspectorate.

Kemal Basha, one of the company's directors, argued, "The Cibubur site is part of our assets. We do not need to ask for approval from the City Council to run our own business."

The company received Rp 2 billion in down payments of the total Rp 27.2 billion in total value. Rp 130 million of the total down payment has reportedly been awarded to the company's employees as bonuses.

"By selling that property, the city government has violated its own master plan," he said.

Ethically, it was not right to sell a plot of land to pay the debt of the city government while at the same time shatter the environment and ignore the interests of young people, said Bianpoen.

Urban expert Marco Kusumawijaya agreed and wrote "Cibubur might be "a committed project"-- further City Hall jargon -- during the process of master planning. And all this has been taking place without public awareness until the news leaked reluctantly.

Many buildings now occupy areas of land that were, in a previous master plan, categorized as "green open space," including Mulia Hotel at Senayan, Taman Anggrek Mall in Tomang, West Java, Park Royal Apartments and many other examples.

Jakarta used to be home to more than 500 parks covering an area of 177.29 square kilometers. It has been reduced to only 220 parks, with more than 300 parks taken for other purposes.

The city's parks and greenery areas function as the city's lung and water catchment areas to preserve groundwater and to help prevent flooding in the city. A reduction in the number of parks and green areas will influence the quality of life in the city.

A city that is completely "full" is suffocating literally and psychologically, Marco said.

Noted sociologist Sarjono Jatiman portrays Jakarta as "a jungle" in which the people live in a chaotic condition and a feeling of insecurity.

"Such a situation will affect people mentally and physically," Sarjono said.

Charles Suryadi, a professor of public health at the University of Atmajaya, Jakarta, added that Jakarta's present condition has adversely affected public health.

"There is no place in Jakarta which is considered healthy," he said, adding that air pollution, lack of clean water and poor sanitation contributed to increasing health problems among Jakartans.

Bianpoen said the city government is undergoing a mall development program.

Mall development ignores nature's harmony, reducing it from being the creator and sustainer of life to being merely a resource, to be exploited, to benefit a small elite at the top of society, writes Vandane Shiva in his book Staying Alive.

Development projects benefit only the rich. "You can see a lot of luxury buildings, houses, but I'm sure people who work or live there are afraid of being attacked or robbed if they appear in public," he said.

The mall development concept creates a wide social gap between the poor and the rich and in the end will result in social problems, including increasing crime rates, drug abuse, and growing numbers of poor people.

Bianpoen said that for Jakarta, the population will be worse off as by the year 2020 it will then be 3-4 times the current 9.5 million. Simple calculation shows that such a condition, with the current level of technology, is not livable because it is far beyond the carrying capacity of the city. Take just one item, water. There will be simply be not enough of it for so many people.

Asiaweek's recent survey ranks Jakarta 36 out of 40 cities in Asia for its poor services, incomes, livability and crime rates.

The confiscation of open public places and green areas like Cibubur camping ground in the city will worsen the living quality of Jakarta and eliminate hopes of having healthy young generations in the future.

At this point, it seems appropriate to voice an urgent call to the city government. In Marco's words, "Jakarta has lost much already. Let there be no more loss."