But observers are raising concerns about the city’s approach and the potential commercialization of Jakarta’s historic landmark due to the minister’s involvement.

Ever since Anies Baswedan stepped down as Jakarta governor earlier this month, his interim replacement Heru, a State Palace stalwart and former city bureaucrat under then-governor Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, has gone to great lengths to restore several pre-Anies initiatives – at times even disregarding his immediate predecessor’s work.

With the Monas revitalization, Heru said the project aims to replant any trees that were cut down by the previous governor with the help of the central government.

“We’ll plant a variety of trees and we’ll also redesign the IRTI section of the complex,” Heru said last week, referring to the vendor center and parking lot located at the south side of the Monas complex.

Speaking alongside Heru at the SOEs Ministry building, Erick added that they eventually want to make Monas as green as the Gelora Bung Karno (GBK) sports complex, which underwent a revamp in preparation for the 2018 Asian Games.

“Pak Heru will design the new complex together with the state secretary and we’ll make it as green as possible,” Erick said.

But the mention of the GBK as a model and the involvement of the minister in the project rang several alarm bells among civil society and academia.

“What most people don’t know is that the government cut down plenty of trees to build two new parking buildings and the new East Plaza during the GBK revitalization project,” said Elisa Sutanudjaja of the Rujak Center for Urban Studies.

She explained that while the old East Plaza had plenty of trees, they all had to be removed in order to make space for sponsor tents in the 2018 Asian Games. Erick, at the time, was head of the Games’ organizing committee.

“The previous Monas revitalization project was criticized for cutting down hundreds of trees. So if they now want to use the GBK as a model, it’s a bit hypocritical,” reasoned Elisa.

As Monas had just been recently revitalized, the urbanist said that Heru should make better use of his limited time in office as interim governor.

Redundant revitalization

Anies embarked on a revitalization project in November 2019 that aimed to restore Monas’ southern plaza to how it was originally planned. The project, which entails cutting down hundreds of trees and turning the area into a concrete plaza, drew much criticism and saw the Jakarta and central government butting heads with each other.

The central government eventually gave the go-ahead after Anies promised to move the trees to other sections of the complex. The project was eventually completed in June 2022, when Anies used the finished plaza to commemorate Jakarta’s 495th birthday.

Elisa further pointed out that currently, MRT Jakarta is constructing a new integrated station within Monas, which will also necessitate more construction.

“I see this [planned revitalization] as a waste of time and effort,” she said.

Trisakti University expert in city planning Yayat Supriatna also raised the same point and warned the city from engaging in frivolous projects that bring little to no benefit to the people.

“To me, what’s important is what benefit this will bring to the people, as we don’t want the government to spend money on something that won’t be utilized,” said Yayat.

It would be fine if the government only wants to do some small-scale projects, but “a revitalization project will have to incorporate what MRT Jakarta already has planned for Monas,” cautioned Yayat.

Monas commercialization

At a separate event for small business owners on Oct. 20, Erick outlined his ambition to create new city centers across Jakarta – Monas being one of them.

“We need new city centers other than Sudirman. Pak Heru suggested Pulogadung, there’s Monas and there’s also Post Bloc in Pasar Baru,” said Erick as quoted by Antara.

While Elisa admits that Monas has long been the subject of commercialization, such as when the annual Djakarta Fair used to be held at the complex in the 70s and 80s, she draws the line at privatization.

“The BUMN mandate is to make profit and this runs counter to what Monas should be, especially when looking at Plataran in GBK,” Elisa said, referring to the private fine dining restaurant located within the sports complex.

Drawing an example from the recent debacle surrounding the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle bus stop revitalization project, Yayat advises the minister to take a measured approach with Monas. “Monas is a national icon and if Pak Erick wants to step in, he has to consider its status as a cultural heritage when planning developments,” said Yayat.

Recently, the revitalized two-story bus stop has drawn criticism from the Jakarta Cultural Heritage Team for obstructing views of the Welcome Monument, which has been designated a possible cultural heritage object.

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