Bakrie developer says sorry about school demolition<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The management of PT Catur Swasakti Utama (CSU),
\nthe developer of the Taman Rasuna apartments in Kuningan, South
\nJakarta, said yesterday they regretted demolishing a primary
\nschool building to make way for construction.<\/p>\n
\"It was merely a safety first decision,\" Tagor Lumbanraja, an
\nexecutive of CSU, said in a press conference at the City Council
\nyesterday.<\/p>\n
Tagor said that rather than endangering the children, CSU
\npreferred to build temporary classrooms and demolish the aging
\nschool, which stood on the 3.7 hectare site where the apartment
\ncomplex is being built.<\/p>\n
He admitted that his company has made the mistake of pulling
\ndown the old school building without asking for an official
\npermit first.<\/p>\n
The City Council summoned and asked executives of CSU to
\nclarify the matter following reports that CSU had illegally
\nappropriated state-owned property, including the school building
\nand an unoccupied 6,000-square-meter shelter on Aug. 11.<\/p>\n
CSU is 100 percent controlled by Bakrie Investindo, a holding
\ncorporation of the Bakrie business group, whose major shareholder
\nis Aburizal Bakrie, the chairman of the Indonesian Chamber of
\nCommerce and Industry (Kadin).<\/p>\n
It was reported earlier that Kurniasih, the school
\nheadmistress, had said that the temporary classrooms had to be
\nabandoned because the project produced thick dust and noise,
\nposing serious health and psychological problems to the pupils.<\/p>\n
She later transferred her 334 students from the classrooms CSU
\nhad provided to two other schools located nearby which have fewer
\nstudents and safer surroundings.<\/p>\n
Tagor claimed that the physical condition of the buildings was
\nsuch that they might have tumbled down anytime, particularly when
\nthe workers starting to drive piles for the apartments with heavy
\nequipment.<\/p>\n
Councilor Sutarno, who chaired the meeting, said that the
\ncouncil could understand such a decision, adding that CSU has
\nagreed to construct better school buildings within its 4,000-unit
\napartment complex.<\/p>\n
\"We're glad to inform you that we've been able to settle the
\nmatter peacefully,\" he added.<\/p>\n
Prominent officials of Bakrie Group, which include Iwan
\nHendradi Djarot, an executive of Bakrie Investindo, Teddy
\nSudiman, the president of CSU, and Siddharta Moersjid, the public
\nrelations manager for the group, also attended the two-hour
\nmeeting.<\/p>\n
Complaints<\/p>\n
Togar and Sutarno said they are still waiting for the
\nmunicipal administration to make a decision as to whether it is a
\nmust for CSU to remove the crushing and mixing plant it has set
\nup at the construction site to facilitate the project.<\/p>\n
School teachers and councilors earlier complained about the
\nlocation of the plant, which crushes and mixes stones and cement.
\nThe plant, which they complained produces a huge amount of dust,
\nis located only 20 meters from the temporary classrooms.<\/p>\n
An official of the city administration said it plans to
\ninvestigate reports on the demolition.<\/p>\n
Moersjid said that it will take CSU one to two years to
\ncomplete the new school buildings, adding that the apartment
\ncomplex will have seven primary schools and several high schools.<\/p>\n
He said that the marketing objective of the Taman Rasuna
\napartments is young and middle class executives. \"More than 90
\npercent of the units have been sold. It is not intended to be a
\nposh area,\" he said, denying reports, which alleged that Bakrie
\nis sacrificing school children for over-privileged Jakartans.<\/p>\n
He said that the monthly salaries of the young executives, who
\nhad studied abroad and were used to living in apartments, range
\nfrom Rp 2 million (US$950) to Rp 3 million. (09)<\/p>",
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