He Said, Jakarta Needs DWP To Increase Regional Revenues

JAKARTA - This afternoon, the DKI City Hall Building was visited by a group of people on behalf of the Indonesian Indigenous Movement (GEPRINDO).

They held a demonstration to urge DKI Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan to cancel the permit to hold the 2019 Djakarta Warehouse Project (DWP) event.

DWP was held in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta, on December 13. This event has received permission from the DKI Provincial Government. Jakarta DPRD Chairman Prasetio Edi Marsudi also supports the DWP held in Jakarta.

The support from the provincial government and the DPRD is not without reason. Because, DKI also gets profit from the music concert. There is regional income flowing from ticket taxes and leasing the Jakarta International Expo building. The number was not mentioned by Prasetio.

"DWP is DKI's last revenue (to support this year's revenue). And it's not just this year. It's been there for years," said Prasetio at the DPRD DKI Building, Central Jakarta, Wednesday, December 11.

In fact, this is not the first time Anies has been demonstrated over the issue of the annual music concert that will be held in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta. In 2017, Anies came under pressure from a number of mass organizations to cancel the DWP concert.

At that time, the demonstrators considered that the event only contained an agenda of immorality. With the issuance of the event permit, Anies is considered to support the sale of liquor (alcohol) provided in concerts.

However, the event which was held two years ago is still running. With notes, Anies ordered the Tourism Office, Satpol PP and Police to oversee the course of the event.

In 2018, the DWP was not held in Jakarta, but in Bali. In the absence of this annual music concert, DKI has lost billions of revenues. This was admitted by the Head of the Regional Tax and Retribution Agency (BPRD) Faisal Syafruddin.

"One of the factors for the decline in income, for example, was not holding a DWP in Jakarta. The one previously in Kemayoran, moved to Bali. The potential for a decrease in income is around Rp. 6 billion," said Faisal.

Moreover, currently, DPRD DKI is urging BPRD to boost tax sector revenue to increase by Rp. 800 billion from the initial prediction of Rp. 87.1 trillion. Therefore, big concerts like this are needed by DKI to increase regional income.