Burned-out buildings remain a reminder of May 1998 riots

Burned-out buildings remain a reminder of May 1998 riots

Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

Years after massive riots forced iron-fisted president Soeharto
to resign in May 1998, many burned-out shop houses in Jakarta
have yet to be restored, bearing witness to the full ferocity of
one of the country's worst outbreaks of racial violence ever.

Most small traders and security guards in the affected
commercial areas say that they have no idea where the owners are
now or why they have not repaired the buildings.

"I don't know who owns this place," said Uni, who has
converted a burned-out building on Jl. Lingkar Luar in West
Jakarta into a Padang restaurant.

Although its walls are still standing, its doors and windows
are missing.

Uni, who has been using the building for the last three years,
said she did not know who owned the building or whether the owner
was still alive, "but I pay Rp 350,000 (US$36.84) a month as a
"rental" fee to security guards around here."

According to the Volunteer Team for Humanity, at least 2,244
people were killed in the riots, with the biggest number of
deaths occurring in the Yogya Plaza department store in Klender,
East Jakarta, where 288 looters perished.

The riots came hot on the heels of the killing of four
Trisakti University students protesting against the Soeharto
regime.

The disturbances saw many commercial centers in the capital, a
city of around 10 million people, torched and looted, forcing
many businessmen, mostly ethnic Chinese, to flee the country.

While most are believed to have returned to Indonesia, many
are still living overseas.

Charred, deserted buildings are also still to be found along
Jl. Daan Mogot and Jl. Kamal Muara in West Jakarta, and on Jl.
Hasyim Ashari in Central Jakarta, as well as other parts of city.

There is no official data on the number of buildings damaged
in the May riots but, according to the Volunteer Team for
Humanity, thirteen markets, 2,479 shop-houses, 40 malls, 1,604
shops, 45 garages and 383 office buildings were damaged or
destroyed in the riots.

The rioters also damaged or destroyed nine gas stations, eight
public buses and minivans, 1,119 cars, 821 motorcycles and 1,026
private residences.

According to the team, the May riots resulted in losses of at
least Rp 2.5 trillion (US$268 million).

Commenting on the deserted buildings, Indonesian Chamber of
Commerce and Industry (Kadin) chairman M.S. Hidayat suggested
that they might be owned by the government or problematic
businessmen.

"Frankly speaking, I don't know why there are buildings that
are still empty. Maybe they are owned by the government or
businesspeople who are in trouble, or their ownership is
disputed," Hidayat told The Jakarta Post.