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rganizations of small and medium enterprises (UMKM) and traditional traders are supporting the plan of Deputy Jakarta Governor Djarot Saiful Hidayat, who wants to reimpose a moratorium on issuing more minimarket permits in the capital city. The moratorium was first enforced in 2006 through gubernatorial decree No. 115/2006, but canceled in 2012.

Jakarta Chamber of Commerce and Industry'€™s deputy chairman for UMKM, cooperatives and agribusinesses, Akhmad Syarbini, said recently that he urged the city administration to reimpose the permit issuance moratorium and evaluate the existence of minimarkets in the capital city.

'€œThe moratorium can be a good moment for both the city administration and the owners to evaluate minimarket operations in Jakarta,'€ he said.

Akhmad said the existence of minimarkets was important in the capital city, but it killed the business of traditional shops and markets.

He said the administration should not only issue permits, but also monitor the practices of minimarkets in the field. Akhmad said minimarkets should involve locals to help them open businesses in their areas.

'€œMinimarkets, for example, should facilitate local entrepreneurs to sell their products, so both businesses can run side by side,'€ he said.

According to the bylaw, minimarkets are obliged to provide 10 percent of their space to street vendors or other non-formal businesses.

According to the Jakarta administration'€™s Economic Bureau, in 2014 at least 2,254 minimarket outlets operated in Jakarta. Some of the famous minimarket chains include Indomaret and Alfamart.

The same support for a moratorium was also shown by the chairman of the Association of Indonesian Market Traders (IKAPPI), Ikhwan Kunto Alfarisi.

Ikhwan said the increasing number of minimarkets was a threat to traditional shops and markets. '€œWhen the number of minimarket has increased, the number of shops in a traditional market has decreased in these last few years,'€ he said.

Ikhwan said that besides imposing a moratorium on issuing new licences, the city administration should also evaluate the minimarkets. He said many minimarkets were built near the markets and no officials did anything about it.

'€œWe actually do not consider minimarkets as our enemy. However, they should comply with the regulations, especially those related to their distance from traditional markets,'€ he said.

The newly inaugurated deputy governor said recently he planned to evaluate the permits of minimarkets.

Djarot said he wanted all minimarkets in the capital city to provide spaces for small and medium businesses.

However, many minimarkets do not comply with the regulation. '€œThere should be regular monitoring that can ensure that street vendors and other small and medium businesses get spaces in the minimarket areas,'€ he said.