Planet Hollywood restaurant

From Republika

I was exceptionally moved when I watched the opening of Planet Hollywood Restaurant broadcast live on SCTV on Saturday, Oct. 22, 1994. At the same time I was greatly entertained by the comedian show especially invited for the occasion.

In the midst of all the grandeur and glamor my thoughts were drawn to past incidents where hundreds of hawkers and sidewalk vendors were chased away from areas to make Jakarta look nice and clean. It's a tragedy for them. We invited the Hollywood stars at the expense of our own people.

It is unlikely that the elite people who came to Planet Hollywood were aware of the fact that many people were driven away from the area. They just wanted to have a glance at Sly or Don Johnson, or better still, to be able to shake hands or have a picture taken with them.

When interviewed they said they were proud of Jakarta being chosen as the second place in Asia to open such a prestigious restaurant. This means that Jakarta has one more place for elite people to gather. How fantastic!

MARIANI

Bekasi, West Java