JIS Can Be A Decent Place For Concerts If Access To Transport And Medium Infrastructure

MetroTrans buses pass at the Jakarta International Stadium (JIS) Bus Stop area, Jakarta, Tuesday (1/3/2022). (Between/Aprillio Akbar/rwa/aa)

JAKARTA Ed Sheeran's concert which was moved from the Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium (SUGBK) to the Jakarta International Stadium (JIS) caused a polemic. JIS is considered to still need to make a number of improvements, while prospective spectators who are dissatisfied with this decision also do not have many choices. What is the legal protection of consumers in Indonesia like?

Just two weeks before the second Ed Sheeran concert in Jakarta, PK Entertainment as the promoter made a surprising announcement. The concert had to be shifted to JIS because GBK would host the Indonesian national team match against Vietnam in the 2026 World Cup Qualification match, March 21.

"We are aware of the importance of the Indonesian national team football match, especially when Indonesia is the host," said the Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of PK Entertainment, who is the promoter of Ed Sheeran's concert, Harry Sudarma, quoting Antara.

Furthermore, Harry ensured that the transfer of the location from GBK to JIS would not change the concept of a 360-degree iconic stage sensation which is the global standard for a concert entitled "Ed Sheeran + - = badminton x Tour 2024".

However, the transfer of the concert venue still caused disappointment from some ticket owners. Although it can accommodate up to 82 thousand people, JIS is said to only provide 1,200 parking spaces.

In addition to limited parking spaces when compared to stadium capacity, the audience at that time also questioned access to JIS which is difficult to reach public transportation. There are only two public transportation options that can be used to reach JIS. The first is using KRL to Ancol Station or Tanjung Priok Station.

However, from the two stations, spectators still have to continue their journey by riding vehicles such as angkot, motorcycle taxis, or online taxis to JIS. Because the distance from the station to the stadium is still about 4 kilometers.

The second way is to use TransJakarta. There are two new routes that immediately take the audience to JIS, namely JIS 014 (Senen-JIS) and JIS 003 (Harmoni-JIS), but both only operate until 22.00 WIB.

Compare it with GBK which is indeed more accessible through public transportation such as Trans Jakarta, MRT, to KRL.

The poor access to and from JIS has actually caught the attention of the audience after the Dewa 19 concert earlier last year. At that time, although the concert was considered a success, not a few viewers were disappointed because of the difficulty of leaving the JIS area after the four-hour concert.

In fact, at every large-scale entertainment event such as concerts, public transportation access is one of the supports so that the audience can be fully entertained. Not only entertained by the artist, but also a comfortable journey and not difficult.

Observers and music performance actors Wendi Putranto admitted that JIS has a lot of homework to do to make it more comfortable for the audience.

"JIS still has a lot of homework to do regarding the infrastructure for organizing concerts, yes; for example related to traffic, access, parking, public transportation, and so on," Wendi said when contacted by VOI.

Previously, Wendi also highlighted the Dewa 19 concert at JIS in February 2023. He assessed that the concert was like a experiencing details' for a large-scale concert at JIS in the future.

The former music journalist even considered that promoters who are accustomed to handling large-scale concerts are likely not to choose JIS as a venue, because of its inadequate infrastructure to accommodate many people.

"So, you could say, there was a design error in the stadium itself," he said.

Meanwhile, Chairman of the Indonesian Music Promoter Association (APMI) Dino Hamid explained that JIS is an international standard stadium that must be integrated with adequate access to transportation and infrastructure. But he is sure, JIS will be a comfortable place if these two aspects are repaired.

Yesterday's JIS issue (after the Dewa-19 concert) was purely not ready for public transportation access and infrastructure. If later the vision is all safe and so, I think it will be proper, "said Dino.

"JIS is flanked by settlements, villages. So, indeed, infrastructure factors and support from the transportation side must be really stable. Otherwise, it will continue to be like that," he continued.

The transfer of venues from GBK to JIS has also provoked the horror of a number of Ed Sheeran fans. Not a few of them felt aggrieved as spectators because since the beginning of ticket sales, GBK was the venue promised by the organizers.

Those who feel aggrieved also mark the account of the Indonesian Consumers Foundation @ylki_id to express disappointment.

According to Criminal Law Expert Masykur Isnan, consumers may sue the promoter legally as long as they feel that there have been losses caused by the transfer of the venue.

"It could be that (the promoter violates consumer protection) if the organizer feels that the consumer is detrimental, from the transfer side, for example there is an additional fee from the ticket that has been purchased or there are additional funds from consumers due to the change," said Masykur Isnan when contacted by VOI.

If there are things that are considered detrimental, then according to Masykur Isnan this can be the legal basis for consumers to sue promoters.

From the promoter's side, he explained that he could provide compensation in other forms to avoid accusations of violating the rights of the audience.

However, Masykur Isnan explained, regarding indications of fraud, further study of the alleged criminal elements of fraud. Even if the promoter is proven to have committed a violation as alleged, it does not mean that the audience can get compensation.

It is necessary to see if there is any malicious intent in terms of the promoter that is carried out without proper and proper reasons. This is a proof that needs to be completed at the beginning," he said again.

"It should be noted that related to crime is only in the context of giving criminal sanctions, not receiving compensation. So it is necessary to look further at the effectiveness of consumers to see this criminal route," explained the owner of Masykur Isnan & Partners Law Firm.