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City wants more green space for Monas after project shelved
Even though the project to revitalize the National Monument (Monas) complex in Central Jakarta has been halted following public outcry, the Jakarta administration insisted any future development projects of the historic landmark would offer more green spaces
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Even though the project to revitalize the National Monument (Monas) complex in Central Jakarta has been halted following public outcry, the Jakarta administration insisted any future development projects of the historic landmark would offer more green spaces.
The 81-hectare complex has become one of the largest urban parks in a city that is suffering from a shortage of green space. Some 450,000 square meters of the Monas landscape is predominantly trees and grass.
The figure represents 0.68 percent of total green open spaces in the capital, which is only at 6.56 ha, or around 10 percent of its land.
The controversial revitalization project in the southern part of Monas is located on 34.48 ha of land or around 0.05 percent of the city’s total green spaces.
The city administration aims to build a paved plaza for ceremonies and other activities, as well as a large pond.
The city administration argued that the project was in accordance with a 1995 presidential decree on the development of Jakarta's Medan Merdeka area, claiming that it would bring an even better output as projected in the winning design of a competition held in January 2019.
“Green open spaces in the presidential decree is at 53 percent. The latest gubernatorial regulation sets a higher percentage of 56,” City Secretary Saefullah told reporters on Thursday.
“The project’s winning design will expand the green spaces to 64 percent [516,189 sq m], an 8-percentage-point increase.”
The project would include transforming the IRTI parking lot in the southern part of the complex into green spaces and planting more trees until 2021, he added.
Despite the claims, some have questioned the real implementation of the revitalization project, which seemed to have derailed from its original plan.
State Secretariat secretary Setya Utama said to his knowledge, the selected design did not include cutting trees nor building more areas covered by concrete.
“The winning design of the competition is different from the DED [detail engineering design] used for the current project," Setya said as reported by Antara news agency.
He suspected a wider splay to the left and right side of the planned plaza has led to many trees being chopped down recently.
Deddy Wahjudi, who led the winning team of the design competition, said the team had not been invited to join the planning of the revitalization project.
“I don't know the details because we were not involved, [...] but it seems like the planned plaza was made wider [on all] sides,” he told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.
He said he believed his team’s design won the contest because it offered the least "infrastructure intervention".
“Our policies were to build on the existing hardscape. Trees were chopped down on the southern side. If we had been there, we might have suggested during the decision-making process to just let the plaza be built wider but let the trees remain,” he said.
Greater Jakarta Ombudsman head Teguh P. Nugroho expressed a similar concern on the cutting of trees.
“Cutting down trees in Jakarta has been regulated by strict rules. Why should [the city administration] approve of a project that includes so many trees being cut down in such a quick decision?” Teguh said.
Saefullah did not respond to questions on possible modifications made to the project’s design.
Cultural observer Nunus Supardi, who has written essays about Monas, including "50 Years of Monas: Roles, Position and Management", told the Post that the initial plan for the southern part of Monas was mainly designed to be a botanical tourist spot.
The plan included bringing various plants from 27 provinces, the number of Indonesian provinces in 1995 when the presidential decree was issued, as well as building an outdoor stage, underground parking lot and areas for street vendors, Nunus said in his essay.
Late president Sukarno began Monas’ construction on Aug. 17, 1961. It is widely believed there were no references saying the official inauguration of the Monas complex was ever held, but it was opened on July 12, 1975, under then-president Soeharto's administration.
Soeharto issued the aforementioned presidential decree on May 2, 1995, aiming to emphasize the monument as a symbol of the nation's struggle for independence. An attachment of the decree is an underground development plan, which will consist of a parking lot, amphitheater, museum and shopping center.
However, many opposed the plan on the grounds that such facilities were unnecessary, Nunus said.
Especially after political turmoil that led to the fall of Soeharto's regime, the plan never materialized.
“As far as I know, the presidential decree has never been revoked,” Nunus said.
The management of the Monas complex was handed over from then-education and culture minister Daoed Joesoef to then-Jakarta governor Tjokropranolo on Aug. 21, 1978.
The handover letter outlined funding-related matters to manage the complex and the role of a steering committee to counsel the management of Monas.
The steering committee, however, has never fully functioned and the city administration's capability to handle the national-scale historic site was deemed insufficient to realize the purpose of Monas’ development, according to Nunus.
Due to its national-level status, Nunus said it was permissible to make changes in the Monas complex, but “there should be reasoning behind the decision and approval [from relevant stakeholders]”.
Teguh expressed a similar concern on the role of every stakeholder in Monas’ development.
“We worried that the Jakarta administration and the State Secretary have just realized their roles in the steering committee after the recent controversy erupted.”
As the city administration forced the revitalization project to begin at the end of the last fiscal year, Deddy suggested that the administration review its plan and properly disseminate it to the public first.
“We need to think holistically for the whole 80-ha Monas area. [The administration] should be very careful to continue the project in the remaining areas. Prepare an ideal scheme and deploy sufficient time to develop the design,” Deddy said.
Moreover, Nunus urged all relevant stakeholders to sit together to reevaluate the future of the Monas complex.
“What is more substantial is to rethink Monas as a symbol of struggle and how we can perceive Monas’ existence as a dignity [to our nation],” he said.
