President's plan to move sports complex contested

JAKARTA (JP): President Abdurrahman Wahid's plan to relocate the Bung Karno sports complex from the Senayan district of Central Jakarta to the site of the former Kemayoran airport in East Jakarta was greeted by many negative comments on Monday.

Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso said he had not received the order from the President nor had been informed of the plan, which the President divulged on Sunday.

Sutiyoso questioned the urgency and the importance of the relocation.

"The (Senayan) area has been zoned for sports. It has been there for quite a long time. How are we going to move such a large complex to Kemayoran? With great difficulty," he said when asked by reporters.

An urban planner, Marco Kusumawijaya, told The Jakarta Post that the Senayan sports complex had achieved a balance between indoor and outdoor facilities.

"We can still improve the quality of Senayan's open spaces without having to move any of the buildings out of the complex. There is no need to clear the area if we can improve the existing facilities," he said.

President Abdurrahman said in Yogyakarta on Sunday that he intended to move the Bung Karno sports complex, which is surrounded by high-rise office buildings, to Kemayoran which has much more open space.

He said the lack of space in the capital was forcing the city authorities to close Jl. Sudirman and Jl. Thamrin to traffic every Sunday morning to allow residents to get some exercise.

The chairman of the Jakarta City Council, Sayogo Hendrosubroto, disagreed with the plan.

"Senayan is a monumental and historical place. It is better to utilize whatever facilities are available," said Sayogo.

Admitting that closing the main thoroughfares at certain times on the weekend for sporting activities was something that was rarely done in other big cities in the world, Sayogo, however, said that this was not a strong enough reason to move the sports complex.

The city authorities closed Jl. Sudirman and Jl. Thamrin to traffic on Sunday morning not because Senayan had become crowded with people, but rather because many people preferred to jog along the streets, he said.

The Senayan sports complex was built in the early 1960s when the capital hosted the Asian Games.

When it was completed, the main sports stadium was initially named Gelora Sukarno, after Indonesia's first president who had ordered its construction.

It was renamed Senayan sports complex by Sukarno's successor, Soeharto. President Wahid last month officially renamed the entire facility the Bung Karno sports complex.

Yasidi Hambali, the director of the Bung Karno Sports Complex Management Board, said he had heard nothing about the plan.

"This sports complex is of historical value and cannot be abandoned just like that. I think we should preserve our values," he said.

"It would have been a better idea if the President had suggested turning Kemayoran into an alternative sports complex," he said. (nvn/06)