Jakarta administration told to seal Senayan City

A top city councilor has urged the Jakarta building supervision and order agency to seal Senayan City shopping mall in Central Jakarta following a dispute over the land the commercial facility is built on.

Deputy speaker of the city council, Lulung Lunggana, said Tuesday the agency should uphold the law indiscriminately.

“The agency needs to seal the building immediately in order to avoid an impression that it acts quickly against slum areas but acts hesitantly  against luxury buildings,” Lulung was quoted by Antara.

Fellow city councilor Taufik Hadiawan said the case served as a test for Governor Fauzi Bowo’s commitment to the people.

“The governor’s image is at stake. People are curious if he will side with big businesspeople or defend the public’s interests,” Taufik said.

The two councilors were responding to the agency’s decision to suspend the shopping mall’s operational permit, which followed a claim from offspring of the late land owner Toyib bin Kiming that the Senayan City developer had yet to pay compensation for the land transfer.

Head of the agency Hari Sasongko has said no further action will be taken as the dispute is being heard in court.