Jakarta governor, police urge calm after malls erect fences purportedly to guard against unrest
Governor Pramono Anung urged the public not to overreact, insisting the capital remains safe and dismissing speculation of imminent disorder.
Tall metal fences erected outside Kota Kasablanka mall in Jakarta. (Threads/nvtnde)
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JAKARTA: Jakarta Governor Pramono Anung and the police have sought to reassure businesses and the public that the Indonesian capital remains safe after shopping malls and office buildings in the capital and other cities erected tall metal fences around their premises.
This was seen as a move to guard against possible protests, though some building owners have denied this is the case.
The barriers, some reaching between 2m and 5m high and topped with pointed spikes, have appeared outside shopping centres, office buildings and state-owned banks in Jakarta, Surabaya, Yogyakarta and Surakarta over the past week, news outlet Kompas reported.
In Jakarta, malls including Kota Kasablanka, Blok M Plaza and FX Sudirman installed steel perimeter fences around their entrances, while similar barriers were also erected outside several state-owned bank buildings in the Slipi area.
In Surabaya, fences have appeared at Pakuwon City Mall, Royal Plaza, Tunjungan Plaza and Pakuwon Mall, fuelling speculation on social media that businesses were preparing for possible demonstrations and unrest in August.
Online discussions have linked the move to fears that large-scale protests similar to those seen across Indonesia last August could return, with unverified social media posts speculating on supposed dates that demonstrations would take place.
The protests in August 2025 forced some shopping malls to temporarily close after demonstrations escalated into violence in several Indonesian cities.
The unrest intensified after a motorcycle taxi driver was fatally struck by a police vehicle during a protest in Jakarta. Several people were killed and others injured, with losses estimated to run into billions of rupiah.
At the time last year, the Indonesian Shopping Center Management Association (APPBI) appealed to the government to strengthen security measures so that shopping centres could continue operating while ensuring the safety of shoppers and employees.
Speaking to local media on Friday (Jul 31), Pramono acknowledged that businesses were concerned about a repeat of last year’s unrest but urged them not to overreact, saying that the city administration was working closely with the police and military to ensure Jakarta remained safe.
“I understand there are concerns because of what happened in August last year. But hopefully it will not happen again, and I believe it will not,” he said.
“As governor of Jakarta, I am coordinating with the police, the military and other agencies to keep Jakarta safe.”
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The governor said excessive concern could itself create unnecessary anxiety among the public and urged businesses not to erect excessive barriers around their properties.
Pramono added that the Jakarta provincial government would hold discussions with business operators to find the best solution while maintaining public confidence.
The police have also moved to reassure residents that there was no indication Jakarta faced an immediate security threat.
Jakarta Police spokesperson Budi Hermanto said on Saturday that the situation across the capital and the wider Greater Jakarta region remained safe and conducive.
“Police, military and Jakarta administration would continue safeguarding public activities not only this month but in the longer term,” he added.
Budi said preventive teams had been deployed to anticipate any groups seeking to incite unrest, with patrols intensified across Jakarta and surrounding cities including Bekasi, Depok and Tangerang.
Police were also monitoring misleading information and provocative content circulating on social media.
According to Budi, authorities had not received any official notification of planned demonstrations and urged the public not to be easily influenced by disinformation, provocation or false claims circulating online.
Meanwhile, some business groups have rejected suggestions that the newly erected fences were intended to guide against fresh unrest.
APPBI chairman Alphonzus Widjaja said the primary purpose of the barriers was to better organise the flow of visitors entering and leaving shopping centres, reducing safety risks and improving traffic around mall entrances.
“If the area is completely open, visitors can enter and exit from anywhere. That creates safety risks and affects traffic around the mall,” Alphonzus told CNBC Indonesia on Saturday.
He said the fences were intended to channel pedestrian movement through designated entry and exit points rather than respond to any specific security threat.
Pakuwon Group marketing director Sutandi Purnomosidi also dismissed suggestions that the fences had been erected because businesses expected demonstrations.
Instead, he said they reflected the company’s efforts to create a more orderly and secure environment.
Drawing a comparison with residential homes, Sutandi said fences were a basic security feature rather than a sign that owners expected a particular threat.
“The main purpose of a fence is security. It doesn’t have to be associated with a specific threat,” he told CNN Indonesia.
Some businesses in Jakarta have already begun removing the barriers following Pramono’s appeal.
At Kota Kasablanka mall in South Jakarta, metal fences about 2.5m high that had surrounded pedestrian walkways and the mall’s main entrance for nearly a week were dismantled on Monday, according to CNBC Indonesia.
The barriers had attracted widespread public attention because they blocked an area that normally serves as one of the main pedestrian access points into the shopping centre.
Source: Others/ew(jt/kb)
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