Social role for Timor buildings

JAKARTA (JP): The city will soon change the use of Timor and Humpuss buildings belonging to former president Soeharto's son Hutomo Mandala Putra on Jl. Medan Merdeka Timur, Central Jakarta, for social services because their construction violated existing land-use regulations.

Central Jakarta Mayor Andi Subur Abdullah said yesterday that according to Presidential Decree No. 25/1995 on the development of the Medan Merdeka area, private companies were forbidden from building offices along nearby streets.

The streets covered by the decree include Jl. Medan Merdeka Barat, Jl. Medan Merdeka Timur, Jl. Medan Merdeka Selatan and Jl. Medan Merdeka Utara. The streets are designed to be buffer zones for the Medan Merdeka park, where the National Monument (Monas) stands.

"We are about to change the use of the two high-rise buildings into places for social services," he said.

When asked what types of social services would be offered at the sites, Andi said: "We haven't decided it yet."

On top of prohibiting private companies from establishing office buildings, the decree also stipulates that buildings in the area should not be higher than the National Monument.

Numerous government buildings, including presidential and ministerial offices as well as the American Embassy, are located on the streets.

Asked about the possibilities that the building owners pay penalties for the violation, Andi said he would study the matter first.

"We haven't gone that far," he said.

Andi also said he was looking into projects closely related to Soeharto's family in the mayoralty.

"We'll study the projects' legal basis first before taking action against their owners," he said.

Andi also insisted that the mayoralty would continue the beautification of the Monas area.

Commenting on the opposition to the beautification project from street vendors forced by the project to relocate to a site further from the Monas area, the mayor said he would urge them to abide by the existing order.

"I've repeatedly asked the administration to provide proper lighting at the relocation site to help attract the vendors, but up to now there has been no response," he said.

Many of the vendors who were told to relocate to the new site have reoccupied their former selling spots, including the monument's gateway where visitors of the park enter.

The vendors strongly rejected the relocation plan because it significantly reduced their daily incomes. (ind)