D

espite the fact that diverse groups of people live in the capital, Jakarta is still not a multicultural city, a seminar concludes.

The seminar, “Does Jakarta as a multicultural city serve its people equally”, concluded on Wednesday that the city’s population remains segregated and that the city treated citizens unequally, serving only those who hold influence in the capital.

One of the seminar speakers, Melani Budianta from the University of Indonesia, said people from various backgrounds lived in Jakarta but had yet to blend with other to create a multicultural life.

“People in the city are so segregated by social statuses, religions and ethnicities that the city is becoming less comfortable to live in,” said the School of Humanities professor.

Melani added that, in the past, the Dutch colonial government forced the people to live in segregation to isolate them from each other, but today people “voluntarily” segregated themselves based on their social statuses, ethnicities or religions.

Melani suggested the importance of more public spaces in the city where people could meet and create social interaction.

Another speaker, Ridwan Kamil, said people could no longer wait for the government to provide the public spaces they needed for these interactions, as the government sided with the people who owned the capital.

“We must seize the city from the capitalists,” said Ridwan, a member of the Bandung Creative Forum, a community-based organization, adding that it could be done by elevating community-based initiatives.

Ridwan, who is also an architect, told the seminar that a group of architects was collaborating with residents of the Kebon Melati subdistrict in Tanah Abang, Central Jakarta, for a project to make the area around the Melati dam a public space where people could have space to relax and interact.

“The Jakarta administration must support community-based initiatives in the capital city because they are the future of Jakarta,” Ridwan said.

Izhar Chaidir, from the City Development Planning Agency, said the Jakarta City Council was processing the 2030 draft bylaws on the spacial master plan, which would accommodate public space needs.

He said some areas around Jakarta would be developed as cultural-center spots, such as the Kota Tua old town in West Jakarta, Menteng and Taman Ismail Marzuki in Central Jakarta and Situ Babakan Betawi cultural village in South Jakarta, where people could meet and interact.

Izhar also said the government planned to develop five zones in the Kota Tua neighborhood to provide a cultural atmosphere through marine and historical tourism, an ethnic and religious village center and a business center. (msa)