Jakarta residents should fight for art and cultural spaces in the city lest they be swallowed by economic powers, an academic said.

Speaking in a general lecture at the German cultural center Goethehaus, Catholic priest and lecturer Mudji Sutrisno, said that shopping malls were too dominant and a lifestyle of consumerism has ate up people's creative time.

"Walking in gardens, cultural museum or art are replaced with shopping or meandering inside malls," he said.

Jakarta has around 40 shopping centers, with many areas having two to three malls in one site.

Cultural spaces, such as museums and art centers are available, however, with their managements were struggling amid limited funding, Mudji said. Meanwhile, other different groups fight over public parks and playgrounds.

"Parks guarded by public order officers or security guards so that sidewalk vendors don't sell there. That's horrifying," he said.

"Public spaces in Jakarta exist for the upper middle class. To hang out, people have to own money. I think that is a part of inhumane capitalism," he said.

Mudji said that it was important to give spaces for art and culture. "It's needed to create an honorable society, which appreciates, shows, and celebrates life," he said.

Jakarta has groups of people who strive for more public spaces in the city. Mudji mentioned group of architects and history enthusiasts groups as among those who have fought for a more cultured Jakarta.

However, Mudji said that their fight was sometimes hampered by politics of the city. "For an example, the disbursement of city funds for Jakarta Arts Council was late because the City Council was late to approve the budget," he said.

In 2007, The Jakarta Arts Council had to wait up to seven months for disbursements from the city's budget. During that time, the Arts Council had to borrow money; members of the Council chipped in some of their own money and staff received their salaries late.

Mudji said that a city needed to have a master plan and a cultural strategy. He said that there should be place for open green areas, arts, and religion. "But the most important thing is, Jakarta has to give space for people who supplied you the most, little people," he said.

"See the sidewalk vendors and little people. It's horrifying to see that they have to sell meatballs in corners. What's going on here?" he said.

He compared Jakarta to Surakarta who gave place for sidewalk vendors in the city square. "That happened because there's dialogue," he said.

He said that the only way to solve problems in the city was through dialogue.

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