Anies' Subordinate Equalize Formula E With MotoGP Mandalika, PDIP: It's Very Different!

Member of Commission B of the DKI DPRD from the PDIP Faction, Gilbert Simanjuntak (Photo: dprd-dkijakartaprov.go.id)

JAKARTA - Member of Commission B of the DKI Regional Representative Council (DPRD) from the PDIP Party faction, Gilbert Simanjuntak, said that the DKI Provincial Government cannot equate the implementation of Formula E with the MotoGP racing event in Mandalika, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB).

Gilbert said that the racing scheme between Formula E and MotoGP is very different. Formula E remodels the streets for temporary racing, while MotoGP uses invested circuits.

"Formula E is to turn a public road into a road for racing, so it is very different from the permanent road racing in Mandalika which is only for investment which is ultimately rented by MotoGP," Gilbert said in his statement, Thursday, September 30.

"The roads for Formula E are made for foreign use, and we rent them to race in Jakarta by submitting commitment fees, building stadiums, and so on," he continued.

Gilbert also doubted the statement of the Jakarta Governor's subordinates, Anies Baswedan, who said that Formula E would benefit.

This is because the initial study on the feasibility study of Formula E, which was prepared by Jakpro, was miscalculated, so it had to be revised according to the recommendations of the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK).

"The favorable opinion in this information is too shallow because the results of the new FS recommended by the BPK have not been released, this is an opinion without using common sense," said Gilbert.

Then, said Gilbert, by taking into account the COVID-19 pandemic, the implementation of Formula E has actually become more detrimental because the economic condition is still weak.

"Tourists themselves will not come in the current pandemic atmosphere, and Formula E is also not famous so people come. There is no international advertisement regarding Formula E Jakarta itself, where is the basis for calculating tourists to come?" he said.

Previously, the DKI Jakarta Provincial Government equated the Formula E event in Jakarta in June 2022 to the MotoGP event at Mandalika in March 2022.

Quoted in his official document, the staff of DKI Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan said that Formula E benefits Indonesia in the eyes of the world, starting from the tourism, investment, and trade sectors.

"Similar to the March 2022 Mandalika MotoGP, Formula E June 2022 is a medium and long-term investment, to boost Indonesia's image and open wider economic opportunities in the future, including for tourism, investment, and world trade," wrote the DKI Jakarta Provincial Government statement on Wednesday, September 29.

The DKI Provincial Government has denied the notion that Formula E does not help restore the economy during the COVID-19 pandemic. They claim Formula E will have a financial impact, economic impact, and reputational impact.

"The economic impact is the multiplier effect it causes. The reputational impact gives a message that Indonesia is back to business. The financial impact is the benefit that Jakpro (Regional-owned Enterprise) gets," said the DKI Provincial Government.