Sudden Appearance Of Five Star Hotel In TIM Revitalization

Revitalization of Taman Ismail Marzuki (Irfan Meidianto / VOI)

JAKARTA - Corporate Secretary of PT Jakarta Propertindo (JakPro) Hani Sumarmo admitted that there was no plan to build a five-star hotel in the initial design of the Taman Ismail Marzuki (TIM) revitalization architecture.

This initial design was made by Andra Matin as the winner of the competition. Then, based on regional strategic activities (KSD) the DKI Provincial Government added a hotel development plan. KSD is the result of a study formulated by the Governor's Team for the Acceleration of Development (TGUPP).

"When the competition won, (the design) did not include the hotel. Then, based on the KSD, we saw that PKJ would become an arts center for a larger environment. So, it was mixed again. Together with Andra Matin too," said Hani when contacted, Monday, 25 November.

Hani said the profits from the five-star hotel operation would later be allocated to subsidize the operational costs of art activities in the TIM area.

So far, TIM operations have been subsidized in the APBD. Based on local revenue (PAD) from the Tourism and Culture Office, which receives around Rp. 6 trillion per year, around tens of billions are included in the TIM subsidy.

"If an artist outside Jakarta stays at another hotel, that hotel will benefit. Nothing is related to the artist. If they stay at a hotel in the TIM area, the profits will be returned to the artist. The government is actually thinking about friends," said Hani.

Moreover, Hani claims that hotel construction will not reduce artistic activities in the TIM area. The hotel building area will later take up 3,000 square meters of land, of the TIM total area of 72,551 square meters.

Then, said Hani, the 3,000 square meter land was not only used for hotel development. He said the hotel building would be combined with a library and the Center for Literary Documentation (PDS) HB Jassin.

"The hotel is only 60 percent of the 3,000 square meters of land used. The priority is on the floor taking the library. The hotel is above the library," he said.

Furthermore, Hani admitted that previously he did not expect that there would be protests by a number of artists who felt that they were not involved in the revitalization plan. What he does know is that the DKI Provincial Government and Jakpro have been discussing with the Jakarta Arts Council (DKJ) about the revitalization.

"I don't know (other artists). But to be able to identify one by one who is not institutionalized, we also need input. Well, if there are artists who don't feel accommodated, let's just sit together," he said.

For information, one of the art activists in TIM, Imam Ma'arif, who also rejected the construction of the five-star hotel, had reasons why they had voiced their rejection loudly.

They uphold the preamble of TIM as a center for creative arts and entertainment arts. This was stated in the Decree of former DKI Governor Ali Sadikin when inaugurating the TIM in 1968.

According to Imam, the construction of a 5-star hotel by DKI Governor Anies Baswedan contradicts Ali Sadikin's intentions. He saw that Anies would put entertainment as a priority, creative art was only a complement.

"This indication can be seen from Anies' policy of handing over the mandate of PKJ-TIM management for 30 years to PT Jakarta Propertindo (Jakpro), a regionally owned enterprise (BUMD) that has nothing to do with the life of artistic creativity," said Imam in a statement on Sunday. , 24 November.

As one of the art activists who has been using TIM for a long time to make art, Imam feels that the DKI Provincial Government does not accommodate their views. The DKI Provincial Government seems to close its eyes to see that art activists do not need hotels to support the creation of a work.

What Imam is worried about is that all the busy business activities will dominate the PKJ TIM more than the artistic activities. For example, the management of a 5-star hotel will later become a big wall that keeps artists away from their own homes.

"You can imagine, the atmosphere and climate of art in PKJ-TIM will be damaged and transformed into pseudo-drama. The position of PKJ-TIM is no longer the pride of the artists," he said.

Thus, Imam asked the PKJ-TIM to be returned to the spirit of Governor Ali Sadikin's decree, which also stated that the cultural enclave was managed by the artists themselves. PKJ-TIM may not be involved in supporting DKI Jakarta's regional revenue burden (PAD).

"In essence, the PKJ TIM should not be used as an experiment in governance that risked a generation of art actors. If it fails, then a generation of arts will become extinct and will not be reversed," he explained.