Staff braced for possible Tenda Semanggi closure

JAKARTA (JP): Workers in cafes and restaurants in Tenda Semanggi are bracing themselves for the possible closure of their establishments, with some saying they will stay put in Jakarta to continue their trade elsewhere in the city.

The future of Tenda Semanggi, a popular hangout among wealthy young Jakartans, already in doubt because the management of the complex has yet to renew its lease, was complicated this week after the city administration said it would put the place "in order".

While most workers, who are employed as cooks, waiters and cleaners, in Tenda Semanggi say they have no immediate plans if the place was closed down, several are determined to run their own street food stalls.

Soja, who has worked as a waiter at Warung Buncit cafe for four months, said he would use his savings and cooking skills to set up a food stall selling pecel lele (fried eel).

"I will continue to work in Jakarta because I can serve more people than I could in my hometown of Semarang," said the father of a two-month-old boy, who arrived in Jakarta in February.

Wawan, a part-time waiter at Borobudur cafe, said he and his colleagues planned to open a food stall in Mampang, South Jakarta.

He hoped to make enough money to eventually run his own business in his hometown in Tasikmalaya, West Java.

Hermawan, another waiter at Borobudur cafe, however, said he was not making any plans at all at this stage and would wait for the management to terminate his employment. "Only then will I start looking for a job," he said.

Tenda Semanggi, occupying a 2.8-hectare plot behind the Jakarta Stock Exchange Building, houses 90 cafes and restaurants and employs some 2,000 people. The place became popular among Jakarta's young elite after its establishment in 1998 because some of its cafes and restaurants were started by out-of-work actors and actresses during the economic recession.

PT Jaya Sapta, which manages the complex on behalf of Mitra Jakarta foundation, is currently negotiating to extend the lease on the plot with the owner, PT Danayasa Arthatama.

The original lease expired last month, but the management has outstanding contracts with tenants that run until May 2001.

Jakarta governor Sutiyoso confirmed on Thursday that Tenda Semanggi was a target in the city administration's plans to restore order in the city because permanent structures had been built there in violation of the original permits, which were for tents.

Many Tenda Semanggi workers said they were more worried about the complex management's failure to extend the contract than the administration's threat to put the area in order.

Agus, Tenda Semanggi marketing manager, said that besides directly employing 2,000 workers, the complex was also a source of income for hundreds of people, who sold newspapers, cigarettes and other things.

He remained optimistic that Tenda Semanggi would remain a popular hangout, although business had been slow recently.

"We have no problems with competitors. Tenda Semanggi has its own market segment. Rain is our biggest enemy," he said, (06)