City to charge Monas visitors

JAKARTA. The city administration plans to apply an entrance fee of Rp 2,000 to Rp 5,000 per person to any visitors to the National Monument (Monas) in an effort to better maintain the monument’s 82-hectare park.

Currently, visitors can enter the park for free. They are only required to buy a ticket when they want to enter the museum on the second floor and another ticket when they want to go to the top of the monument. 

Head of Monas working unit Rini Haryani said if an entrance fee was charged, visitors would be able to get access to the park and the museum.

“We do not mean to collect more money from the ticket. We rather want to use this ticketing system to improve the visitors’ sense of belonging,” acting governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama said on Friday.

He said that charging an entrance fee did not breach Bylaw No. 3/2012 on fees because the bylaw only stated that the fee was applied “until the monument’s cup”, which he interpreted as covering the entire park.