P

laza Semanggi will have to build its own access at its rear and may expect fewer visitors after the Indonesian Veterans Legion (LVRI) finally gave the green light to the city authorities to close the current access from Jl. Gatot Subroto.

The planned closure of the access is aimed at easing gridlock on the Semanggi cloverleaf, especially during rush hour.

The veterans'€™ Graha Purna Yudha Hall shares the same site as the shopping mall and does not have separate access. LVRI secretary- general FX Soejitno confirmed on Friday that the veterans'€™ association had allowed the city administration to close the current access to the shopping mall.

'€œWhat Pak Basuki said recently is true. We have given permission to close the access with only one condition,'€ he said referring to Deputy Governor Basuki '€œAhok'€ Tjahaya Purnama. The veterans accepted the access closure but only after an alternative road was made at the rear of the hall.

In discussing the plan to close the access, Ahok had harsh words for Lippo Group, owner of the shopping mall, which supported the veterans in opposing the proposed closure of the road.

'€œLippo is sly. It uses aged veterans against us. It'€™s outrageous,'€ he said, adding that it was impossible for the city to fight against veterans who had fought for the country'€™s independence.

To speed up the construction of the alternative road the city administration has asked all developers in the area, including Hutomo '€œTommy'€ Mandalaputra, youngest son of the late former president Soeharto, to set aside part of their land.

Tommy recently met Governor Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo to ask his support for the construction of a luxurious apartment in a large vacant plot near the shopping mall.

The current access to the hall and shopping mall has been closed by the police occasionally in the past few years but this has met with strong opposition from the veterans.

Arming themselves with sharpened bamboo sticks, symbolizing the War of Independence, the veterans dismantled the roadblocks.

After that, the police and the LVRI made an agreement that the access would be closed from 4:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. on weekdays.

Ahok said recently that he would ask several developers in the area to provide social and general facilities, part of which would be used to construct the alternative access.

He also threatened to revoke the shopping mall'€™s building certificate because according to a feasibility study, the shopping mall should not be where it is.

'€œWe could have revoked the certificate and Lippo Group would no longer be able to operate the shopping mall because its presence would be unfeasible. But we do want to question the past [administration'€™s] mistake and this is reconciliation, isn'€™t it?'€ he said as quoted by Kompas.com

The University of Indonesia'€™s Public Policy analyst Andrinof Chaniago said closing the current access to Plaza Semanggi shopping mall was a breakthrough in terms of upholding the rights of the greater population.

'€œThe shopping mall'€™s location is not viable. It is on the corner of such a busy intersection and is very close to the street. By closing the access, the city is giving a higher priority to traffic than the mall,'€ he told The Jakarta Post over the phone.

Currently, commuters travelling from Slipi and Senayan traffic circle to Jl. Gatot Subroto endure heavy traffic congestion at Semanggi intersection. '€œThe city has made the right move. The heavy congestion in Semanggi is an urgent issue,'€ Adrinof said.