TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Popular Reads
Top Results
No results found. Please check your search term and try again
Can't find what you're looking for?
View all search results
Popular Reads
Top Results
No results found. Please check your search term and try again
Can't find what you're looking for?
View all search resultsTree-shaped decorative lights removed from Thamrin area after criticism
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
Tree-shaped lamps decorate sidewalks on Jl. MHThamrin and Jl. Medan Merdeka Barat in Central Jakarta. The plastic decorations were later removed after criticism by residents. (kompas.com/Nibras Nada Nailufar)
N
ewly installed tree replicas with decorative lamps on sidewalks in Central Jakarta have been removed after several days after being criticized for impeding pedestrians.
Previously, photos of imitation bamboo trees on Jl. MH Thamrin were widely circulated on social media. Imitation trees were also spotted on Jl. Medan Merdeka Barat. However, by Thursday the imitation trees were reportedly removed from the sidewalks.
Pedestrians Coalition head Alfred Sitorus said the coalition noticed the decorative light installment and criticized it by posting photos of the lamps and called it “Tamasya Pohon Imitasi' (Imitation Tree Tour).
“We found that some of the sidewalks were too narrow, such as those in front of Bangkok Bank [on Jl. MH Thamrin], but imitation trees were still installed there. They impeded pedestrians, especially the disabled,” Alfred said on Thursday as reported by kompas.com.
He said the coalition took pictures of the decorative lights, and soon after the trees were removed.
Alfred said the coalition was not against the Jakarta administration’s attempts to decorate the sidewalks, but the coalition wanted to remind the administration that the main function of sidewalks should not be disrupted for aesthetic purposes.
He said the administration could have made use of existing trees to put decorative lights on.
“We are actually criticizing the administration for cutting down living trees on [the streets] and later trying to replace them with imitation trees,” he said. (ami/wit)
