Mega Kuningan entrance fee opposed

Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The City Council clamped down on Thursday against a plan to apply an entrance fee for motorists entering the Mega Kuningan complex in South Jakarta, where several embassies and businesses are located, including the JW Marriott Hotel, the site of a terrorist bombing last month.

During a hearing between Council Commission D for development affairs and the complex's management, Totok Ismunandar of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) faction stressed the roads in the area were not under the exclusive ownership of the complex's residents.

"It is illegal to charge motorists for passing through facilities that were developed for public use," said Totok.

He said any application of a public entrance fee required the approval of the city administration and the council.

Although some of the public facilities, such as roads, in the complex were built by the developer to meet an obligation underlined in the development contract, Totok explained that the public facilities were under city management.

Sugeng Suprijatna of the Golkar party also said the council opposed any efforts to designate any area in the city as exclusive, because it would be a bad precedent.

"Imagine if all housing complexes in the city proposed similar requests. How many exclusive areas would sprout up in the city," said Sugeng, adding that the administration and the council would open any exclusive areas in the capital to the public.

The Mega Kuningan management has introduced a new security system with check points at all entrances to the complex, which is known as an exclusive residential area for diplomats and high- level expatriates.

Beside checking all motorists entering the 54-hectare complex, the security guards are reportedly asking an entrance fee of Rp 1,000.

The check points, which were set up two weeks ago, is part of the complex management's efforts to tighten security after the bombing of JW Marriott Hotel on Aug. 5.

Nugroho Suksmanto, Managing Director of the Mega Kuningan estate management, denied imposing any fee, saying the plan to impose the fee had not been finalized yet, as it needed the approval of relevant authorities.

Nugroho said that during the trial period, motorists passing through the area were given an entry pass at the check points after a security check. The entry passes were only given to visitors to the area, not its residents.

"We did not charge any fee during the trial period, as was reported in several newspapers. I do not know if some delinquent security guards asked for money from motorists, but I don't think they would dare to do such a thing," he said.

Nugroho said all visitors to the area had to under go a security check, not only cars and motorcycles, but also vegetable vendors who regularly sell produce in the area.

He said the idea for the security system came from the JW Marriott Hotel management, as part of its effort to guarantee the hotel's guests that such a bombing would never happen again.

The hotel's security request was approved during a meeting on Sept. 12 attended by the Kuningan Timur subdistrict head, public figures and the complex management, said Nugroho.