Jakarta Monorail Owner Stops Sponsoring Jakarta's Birthday

Jakarta – Asset management and investment company PT Ortus Holdings will not be donating any money for Jakarta's 487th birthday celebration this year. Ortus is the majority owner of PT Jakarta Monorail, a private corporation that develops the two-line monorail system in the capital—a project that has yet to start.

Last year, Ortus funded a number of major events in Jakarta's anniversary celebration, including a dance performance and a monorail exhibition at the national Monument (Monas). "Ortus will not be a sponsor this year," Bambang Sugiyono, head of the Jakarta Anniversary Committee, said yesterday.

Jakarta's Acting Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, also known as Ahok, confirmed that Ortus will not co-sponsor Jakarta's 487th anniversary. "No they are not [sponsoring this year], it seems that we will not have dances like in last year's celebration," he said at City Hall on Tuesday.

When asked whether the discontinuation has anything to do with the monorail project delays, Ahok only laughed. "If that's the case, it would mean that they have hidden intentions, would not it?" Ahok joked.

The assumption was denied by PT Jakarta Monorail director, Sukmawati Syukur. She said that the relationship between the Jakarta administration with the company is not as severe as what the media reported.

According to Sukmawati, there is a possibility that Ortus will not make any donations because they earmarked the funds for corporate social responsibility (CSR). "It is likely that they have allocated the funds for other events this year," she said.

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