City PDI chapter publishes problems

City PDI chapter publishes problems

JAKARTA (JP): Campaigners of the city's chapter of the
Indonesian Democratic Party will be issued with a reference book
on the city's problems launched yesterday.

The book has been in the making since June last year, Lukman
F. Mokoginta, chairman of PDI's city chapter said.

The 1,500 copies are titled "The hopes of the low income
earners in 2000," and were printed by "very small print shops"
for only Rp 1 million, Lukman said.

The PDI city chapter received Rp 500 million in campaign funds
from the municipality last year. The city chapters of Golkar and
the United Development party received the same amount.

The book covers all the city's problems from garbage,
transportation, student brawls, employment, autonomy and the
improvement of living standards.

The book says regulations to protect property owners from
arbitrary land appropriation by both the government and private
developers are badly needed.

"Land appropriations should be based on fair buy-and-sell
rules, and negotiated between the sellers and the buyers," the
book says.

Quoting the book, Lukman said if development plans meant
people were to be evicted, clear regulations on compensation
were needed.

"Evicted property owners deserve fair compensation in order to
live better after being evicted. Compensation must be based on
the market price of the land," Mokoginta said.

So, he said, strong efforts should be made to help low income
people buy plots of land for their families.

Lukman also said he and representatives of the other two
political groupings would ask for more campaign funds from the
Governor prior to the May elections.

"We (PDI Jakarta chapter) need Rp 1 billion for the campaign,"
he said. (anr/sur)