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)