Corry Elyda, Jakarta – New shopping malls will continue to open in Jakarta in the future because a planned moratorium does not annul permits for new malls issued by the previous administration.

Jakarta Governor Joko "Jokowi" Widodo said on Tuesday at City Hall that he would issue a gubernatorial decree on the moratorium. "I have not thought about the time frame. I will simply not issue any new permits to build more malls," he said.

Deputy Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama said, however, that the moratorium would only affect applications for permits that were submitted with the current administration.

"We cannot revoke permits issued during the previous administration," he said. Ahok added that the administration would be sued by developers through the State Administrative Court (PTUN) if it tried to revoke the permits.

The city currently has 173 shopping malls, which have become recreational hubs for Jakartans as the city lacks public spaces.

Ahok said the administration would no longer issue permits to build new malls because the current infrastructure would not be able to accommodate them, "We are not against building new malls. However, our existing infrastructure makes it impossible for new malls to be built," he said.

Ahok said in order to halt the development of malls, the administration did not need to issue a new regulation. "If a company applies for a building permit, we will turn down the application," he said.

Ahok said the contractors would still be able to build malls in areas with few shopping centers like Marunda in East Jakarta. He said the administration could not issue permits for Central Jakarta and South Jakarta.

Separately, Indonesian Retailers Association (Apindo) executive director Tutum Rahanta said that the moratorium was not purely a concept from Jokowi's administration but also from the previous one. "However, they never provided a clear regulation on the matter," he said.

Tutum added that the policy had to be clear as businesses needed to project their targets. "Building a shopping mall is not easy. It takes four to five months to complete," he said.

Tutum said he was also confused about the administration's point of view. "They plan to develop Jakarta into a service and trade city on one hand, yet the officials talk about the moratorium," he said.