Humpuss Group refuses to leave disputed buildings<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The widely diversified Humpuss Group has decided
\nto remain in its two multistory buildings on Jl. Medan Merdeka
\nTimur in Central Jakarta.<\/p>\n
The two buildings were sealed off by the local authorities
\nlast week for violating building usage rights.<\/p>\n
President of PT Humpuss Abdul Wahab told reporters on Thursday
\nthat the company would sue the city administration if Governor
\nSutiyoso refused to repeal the order to seal off the seven-story
\nTimor and 18-story Humpuss buildings.<\/p>\n
\"We have legal certificates for these two buildings and we'll
\ndefend our rights.<\/p>\n
\"That's why we're still here,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The lawsuit, to be filed with the Jakarta State Administrative
\nCourt, has been under preparation in case of a deadlock in
\nnegotiations to be held between Humpuss and Sutiyoso's office.<\/p>\n
\"We have sent letters to the administration calling for the
\nrevocation of the sealing off and to the City Council speaker to
\nhelp us regain our rights.<\/p>\n
\"Unfortunately, we have received no single response so far,\"
\nhe said.<\/p>\n
The disputed buildings of Humpuss, a giant business group led
\nby the youngest son of former president Soeharto, Hutomo \"Tommy\"
\nMandala Putra, were sealed off last Friday morning by a dozen
\nCentral Jakarta public order officials in the presence of
\nsorrowful employees of companies housed in the buildings.<\/p>\n
The authorities charged the owner of the buildings with
\nviolating 1995 Presidential Decree No. 25 on the development of
\nMedan Merdeka Square which forbids private companies from
\nbuilding offices in the area, including along Jl. Medan Merdeka
\nTimur.<\/p>\n
The area is designed to be a buffer zone for Medan Merdeka
\nSquare against encroaching development.<\/p>\n
As of Thursday, or five days after being sealed off, business
\nactivities at the two buildings went on as usual.<\/p>\n
Red signboards announcing that the buildings have been sealed
\noff remain in place.<\/p>\n
A telephone operator of PT Kaltim Methanol Indonesia, a
\nHumpuss subsidiary which has an office in the Humpuss building,
\nsaid she and her colleagues had not been informed of any plan to
\nmove to other premises.<\/p>\n
No plan<\/p>\n
\"Our bosses have not told us anything about such a plan,\" the
\nfemale operator, who asked for anonymity, said.<\/p>\n
A few days after the sealing off, Governor Sutiyoso repeatedly
\nstated that he was ready to face any consequence of the measure.<\/p>\n
\"I am ready even if they want to sue me. What I did was just
\nimpose the rules,\" said Sutiyoso, who served as Jakarta military
\ncommander and Jakarta governor under Tommy's father, Soeharto.<\/p>\n
According to Wahab, the building permits for the two
\nproperties were issued by the city administration (under the
\ngovernorship of Surjadi Soedirdja) two months after the issuance
\nof the 1995 Presidential Decree No. 25.<\/p>\n
The documents clearly state that the two buildings would be
\nfor office space.<\/p>\n
Wahab said it was only two years later that Humpuss got a
\nbuilding usage permit for the two properties, dated Feb. 27,
\n1997, which declares that the premises should be used for
\ngovernment offices, Wahab said.<\/p>\n
Asked whether the company thought to carefully examine the
\ndifferences in the documents, Wahab said \"that is not our task,
\nit is the administration's\".<\/p>\n
He added that the administration had been unfair because the
\nsealing off was done while Humpuss was still negotiating with the
\nadministration for a possible exchange of the two buildings with
\nthe city-owned Bank DKI building on Jl. Juanda III in Central
\nJakarta.<\/p>\n
\"We had yet to reach an agreement, but then the administration
\nunexpectedly sealed off the buildings,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Initially the authorities gave the buildings' management seven
\ndays to arrange for the occupants to remove all their belongings
\nbefore the buildings were to be temporarily taken over by the
\nauthorities until further negotiation.<\/p>\n
The administration early this week abruptly changed the
\narrangement and is allowing one month for the removal of
\nproperty. (ind)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/humpuss-group-refuses-to-leave-disputed-buildings-1447893297",
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