Where trees once stood: Visitors take pictures near the partially deforested southern side of the National Monument (Monas) in Central Jakarta on Jan. 20. About 190 trees have been removed from the area for the city administration’s Monas revitalization project. (JP/Wendra Ajistyama)

The Jakarta administration is insisting the controversial work at the National Monument (Monas) in Central Jakarta is being done to complete an unfinished government project.

The city has come under fire for cutting down almost 200 trees, accusations involving the contractor's dubious credibility and paperwork issues.

City secretary Saefullah said the government’s development plan for Monas, stipulated in Presidential Decree No. 25/1995 on the development of Jakarta's Medan Merdeka area, was never completed after the iconic Jakarta site was established in 1961. 

“Monas' development has never been completed. There has never been in our history a president officially launching the complete Monas. That's why we carry it out. [The design] refers to the said presidential decree,” Saefullah told reporters in a press conference at City Hall on Friday. 

“Please wait until mid-February. There would be shady view toward Monas from the plaza,” he said. “So, we are actually looking after the icon of Jakarta.”

The design of the development plan, as stipulated in the presidential decree, includes the southern part of the complex, where part of the revitalization project is currently taking place. It was designated as public space that the administration interpreted should be a paved plaza with a large pond. 

“The pond will be complemented with beams of lights [toward the monument] from lamps placed inside the pond,” project contractor PT Bahana Prima Nusantara president director Muhidin Salihin said in a press conference on Thursday.

The project in the southern part of the complex is expected to be completed in mid-February. Meanwhile, the full revitalization project is to be carried out until 2021. 

The full revitalization project is to include the development of plazas not only in the southern, but also the eastern and western parts of the complex.

PT Bahana won the tender with a bid of Rp 64.4 billion (US$4.7 million), less than the project's estimated price set by the administration at Rp 71.3 billion. 

The cost of the project in the southern part of Monas was eventually set at Rp 50.5 billion after adjustments.  

Criticisms first arose after about 190 trees were chopped down. Saefullah later claimed the number of felled trees was actually 85, adding that all those that were in good condition would be replanted in the western and eastern parts of the complex for the next few months. 

Meanwhile, a councillor from the Indonesia Solidarity Party (PSI) faction, Justin Adrian, previously questioned PT Bahana Prima Nusantara's credibility through his Twitter account @JustinPsi as the firm’s office seemed to be located in a dense housing complex.

The PSI reported the firm to the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) on Thursday for its allegedly dubious reputation, but the commission returned the report because of incomplete documentation.

Jakarta Goods and Services Procurement Agency (BPPBJ) head Blessmiyanda argued the administration chose the contractor as the firm had met the requirements for the project.  

“We have checked directly a project handled by the tender winner of a mosque in West Sumatra. It was of good quality,” Blessmiyanda said. 

PT Bahana Prima Nusantara also denied the accusation and said it planned to file a legal complaint against the councillor.

“We won the tender because we already have a specialty in [park arrangement],” the firm’s legal officer, Abu Bakar J. Lamatapo, said on Thursday, adding that the firm had been registered under the Law and Human Rights Ministry since 1993.

The Jakarta Council previously asked the administration to halt the project temporarily as it was being undertaken without the consent of the Medan Merdeka Area Development Steering Committee.

The role of the steering committee includes granting approval for revitalization of the Monas area, as mandated by the aforementioned presidential decree.

State Secretariat secretary Setya Utama said Pratikno, who led the steering committee, had yet to receive a project proposal, let alone sign any permit. 

Saefullah said the administration had prepared the documents required by the steering committee and they were to have been delivered on Friday.   

Despite the councillors demanding the administration halt the project pending approval from the steering committee, construction work on the site was continuing on Friday when The Jakarta Post visited it. Backhoes were digging soil and people were seen working from outside of the construction fence.

The project kicked off on Nov. 12 last year after being in the city’s plans since 2017.