PPP denies asking for spaces at Glodok Plaza<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The United Development Party (PPP)'s city
\nchapter chairman Djaffar Badjeber denied on Wednesday that his
\nfaction or its members had asked for a quota of spaces at the
\nrebuilt Glodok Plaza in West Jakarta.<\/p>\n
\"It's a lie and slander. Give me the names,\" Djaffar, who is
\nalso the City Council deputy chairman, said.<\/p>\n
He suspected a certain party circulated the rumor after his
\nparty questioned alleged corrupt practices of the city-owned
\nmarket operator PD Pasar Jaya when it presented its overview of
\nGovernor Sutiyoso's accountability speech last week.<\/p>\n
He insisted that the appointment of private firm PT Betawi
\nLestari Jaya by PD Pasar Jaya to market shops in the plaza was
\nillegal.<\/p>\n
\"The appointment should have been made through an open tender.
\nPT Betawi was even unregistered at the Ministry of Justice when
\nit signed a marketing deal with Pasar Jaya last year,\" Djaffar
\nremarked.<\/p>\n
He said his faction found that the private company, which
\nshould have transferred Rp 24 billion (US$2.4 million) for about
\n200 shops at the fourth and fifth floors of the market to Pasar
\nJaya according to the agreement, managed to pay only Rp 6 billion
\nwhich it collected from traders as booking fees.<\/p>\n
Djaffar insisted that a decision to insert the alleged scandal
\nin the faction's reply to Sutiyoso's speech was made in a faction
\nplenary meeting, not by an individual as reported.<\/p>\n
A source at the PPP faction said on Monday that the faction
\noriginally did not intend to expose the Glodok Plaza case, but
\nsurprisingly its spokesman, A. Chudlary Syafi'i Hadzami referred
\nto it.<\/p>\n
Another source said that Chudlary, who is also the PPP's city
\nchapter deputy chairman, brought the case forward after his
\ndemand for 10 shops at the plaza was turned down.<\/p>\n
The source said that the PPP faction owns several shops in
\nmarkets under PD Pasar Jaya's auspices, including Kenari Market
\nin Central Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Chudlary, who is a member of the council's commission C for
\nfinancial affairs, could not be reached for comment on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Djaffar, however, admitted that some councillors had expressed
\ntheir interest in opening shops at the Glodok Plaza or helping
\nfellow party members to obtain shops.<\/p>\n
\"But they have not asked for them to be free of charge. They
\nwanted to buy the shops, and that did not violate the law,\" he
\nclaimed.<\/p>\n
PD Pasar Jaya's president Syahril Tanjung stated that some
\ncouncillors had asked for spaces at the market, which was burned
\ndown during mass riots in May 1998.<\/p>\n
Separately, Sutiyoso rejected on Wednesday the call to dismiss
\nPasar Jaya's executives since it had no clear basis.<\/p>\n
\"The reason to punish my subordinates should be clear. If it's
\njust based on revenge (against Syahril), I cannot fulfill it,\" he
\ntold reporters.<\/p>\n
He said that councillors, in their personal capacity, are
\nallowed to own shops in the market, provided they follow the
\nprocedures. (jun)<\/p>",
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