Jakarta Youth Community Stage Rally Over BMW Stadium Project

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Hundreds of young people joined in Gue Anak Jakarta community staged a protest before the Jakarta Regional Legislative Council (DPRD) building today, November 21, over the continuity of BMW Stadium construction project which would be set as the headquarter of the capital’s football club, Persija.

“We want to meet DPRD speaker Prasetio Edi Marsudi,” said the rally coordinator Masrizal Arifianto today.

Masrizal said most members of Gue Anak Jakarta were fanatic supporters of Persija yet the demonstration was not initiated by supporter team The Jakmania.

He said the city administration was ready to commence the stadium construction. However, the plan could not be carried out without a permit from Prasetio. Thus, the rally participants demanded reasons that Prasetio declined the project.

According to Masrizal, the protest was a form of concern on the pending of the construction project. “Jakarta has glorious buildings, but it’s an irony that as a capital city, Jakarta does not have a stadium,” he noted.

Jakarta provincial administration assigned province-owned enterprise PT Jakarta Propertindo (Jakpro) as the firm in charge of the BMW Stadium construction project. However, Prasetio rejected the plan because it should be auctioned by Sports Agency in a bid to suppress the budget cost and control the project expenditure, which costs Rp4.3 trillion.

Responding to the rejection, Anies Baswedan asked the public to see Equestrian Pulomas and Velodrome built by Jakpro. Anies said that the horse and the bicycle racing tracks were one of the best in the world. Therefore, he would soon meet with the DPRD to further discuss the matter.

M JULNIS FIRMANSYAH