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Jakarta.  The House of Representatives on Monday said it was ready to pay for any penalties that may be incurred for canceling the government contract allowing the construction of a mall at the Taman Ria Senayan area, just beside the legislative complex.

Pius Lustrilanang, the deputy chief of the body’s Household Affairs Committee (BURT), said the House, the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) and the Regional Representative Assembly (DPD) — the offices of which are all housed in the Senayan complex — all agreed that the Taman Ria area should be returned to its previous function a part of the legislative complex and maintained as a green space.

The presence of a shopping center “would complicate securing the area,” he said. “If there’s a penalty for cancelling the contract, then we are ready to pay it.”

The 111,600-square-meter area at the heart of the dispute has been leased to property developer PT Ariobimo Laguna Perkasa for 25 years beginning this year under a contract signed in July 2008.

Ariobimo has said it was planning to develop a mall in the area that would be operated by the Lippo group, with which the Jakarta Globe is affiliated.

Under the terms of the agreement, Ariobimo should have already paid the government Rp 6.5 billion ($721,500). It could not be verified on Monday if it had made the payment.

The statement comes after National Mandate Party (PAN) lawmaker Teguh Juwarno managed to get Monday’s plenary to lodge a rejection of the mall plan.

Though the topic was not part of the official session agenda, Teguh interrupted the proceedings to air his objection over the plan. “With this, I want all lawmakers to vote unanimously for green areas in the Taman Ria Senayan,” he said, drawing applause from lawmakers.

House Deputy Speaker Pramono Anung, from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), banged his gavel to recognize the objection and asked the House secretariat general to include the idea in the plenary minutes of meeting.

“This demand is part of our decision today,” Pramono said.

Speaking after the meeting, Teguh said building a mall in the area contradicted presidential decree No. 94/2004, which stated that the area should be maintained as a national heritage area.

The decree also limits the use of the area to two functions ­­­— to be used for the benefit of all communities and for the improvement of national sports, he said.

“So if it were used for a shopping mall, then it’s not for the sake of the people,” Teguh said. “It’s better to be designated as a green area. If the government cannot do that, then let the legislature use it as office building complex.”

Earlier this month, House Speaker Marzuki Alie said the House, DPD and MPR were in talks with Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo and Ariobimo over the possibility of taking over Taman Ria as a site on which to build a new office tower for legislators.

Since then, Marzuki has denied that rejecting the mall plan had anything to do with the office building plans and the plenary on Monday maintained that Taman Ria — if returned to the government — would be developed into a park.

However, Golkar Party secretary general Idrus Marham, going against widespread sentiment in the House, urged all parties to respect the contract between the government and Ariobimo.

“If the contract was bad, let’s point our finger at the state officials who worked on it, they must take the responsibility,” Idrus said. “If we think value of the contract is bad, then revise it.”

An Ariobimo director, Sharif Cicip Sutardjo, is a senior Golkar official.