Mayor Eri Asks Mall Managers to Lower High Fences: 'Surabaya is Safe'

Surabaya Mayor Eri Cahyadi has asked mall managers in the City of Heroes not to raise their fences. According to him, Surabaya is a safe city and the public need not worry.

Eri said he has met with a number of mall managers. At the meeting, he suggested that the managers need not take such action. He argued that high fences would only damage the aesthetics of the mall buildings.

“So, God willing, we will coordinate later. What I want is that when a fence is there, people walking by feel more at ease, not too high, which reflects that people feel afraid. Even though the city of Surabaya is safe,” Eri said on Wednesday (5/7).

Nevertheless, Eri stressed that he was not asking managers to dismantle the mall fences, but only to lower their height.

“Why didn’t we convey that (fence removal)? Because not all malls in Surabaya are like that. Only two or three malls,” he said.

Eri also emphasised that the fence construction was not to anticipate mass action. Rather, it was for the safety of visitors coming to the malls.

For example, Eri said, at Tunjungan Plaza Mall. Visitors entering and leaving the mall often cross carelessly when passing Jalan Basuki Rahmat. This actually endangers mall visitors and passing motorists.

“If people cross, they do it right in front, so people jump across. We also often reprimand them, so that people do not cross in front of Tunjungan Plaza, because there is already a pedestrian bridge (JPO),” he said.

“They (the mall owners) said that by installing a fence, people can exit to the right or left and can be monitored. But I said the fence should not be too high, as if something might happen or there is a sense of worry, even though it is not like that,” Eri added.

Eri said the Surabaya Transportation Agency (Dishub) has also installed concrete barriers on Jalan Basuki Rahmat. This was done so that mall visitors or pedestrians do not cross the road directly, and instead use the pedestrian bridge when crossing.

According to him, the installation of concrete barriers is intended to provide a sense of safety and comfort for motorists. If plastic barriers were used, they could easily be shifted, endangering passing motorists.

The phenomenon of several shopping centres or malls installing high fences in front of their buildings has recently become a topic of discussion on social media.

Fence installation has been seen at a number of malls in various regions, including Kota Kasablanka Mall in Jakarta and several malls under Pakuwon Group management in Surabaya.

Previously, a number of malls under Pakuwon Group in Surabaya suddenly installed fences around their areas. This then sparked public discussion in Surabaya on social media. Many netizens linked it to anticipation of the issue of a weakening economy. However, the management firmly denied this.

At least the Pakuwon Group malls that have begun building fences around their areas are Pakuwon Mall in West Surabaya, Royal Plaza in South Surabaya, Pakuwon City Mall in East Surabaya and Tunjungan Plaza in Central Surabaya.

CNNIndonesia.com monitoring at the Pakuwon Mall area showed a fence about 2.5 metres high, made of green palisade-style iron with pointed tips. The fence separates the parking area and mall entrance from pedestrian access on the pavement.

Meanwhile, monitoring at Royal Plaza showed fence construction still ongoing. A number of fence columns consisting of concrete and pointed iron with an estimated height of about 3 metres have been installed. But some are still in the process of being worked on.

When confirmed, Pakuwon Group Marketing Director Sutandi Purnomosidi denied that the fence construction at several malls belonging to his group was related to the issue of a weakening economy. He stressed that the company was not anticipating any particular conditions, including socio-political situations.

“There is no anticipation of anything. We believe Indonesia is safe and prosperous, NKRI is non-negotiable,” Sutandi said when confirmed on Friday (17/7).

He stressed that Indonesia’s economic conditions, or Pakuwon Group’s retail business, were actually growing well in the first half of 2026.

“If the economy were not doing well, actually Pakuwon Group is doing well in the first half of 2026,” he said.

He explained that all of Pakuwon Group’s financial reports can be accessed openly because the company is publicly listed, or Tbk. According to him, sales conditions in Pakuwon Group’s retail sector also remained good during the two-week school holiday period.

“Pakuwon is a Tbk, so the financial reports we produce can be checked. And as for retail conditions, up to the recent school holidays, everything is fine,” he said.

Sutandi likened the construction of mall fences to the fence of a private house. According to him, the main function of a fence is for security, without needing to be linked to any particular threat.

“For example, if netizens have a house, they have a fence. What is its function? What is a fence for? Yes, surely first and foremost for security, right? But security from what? We don’t know. Is that right?” he said.