Committee seeks clarification on Tanah Abang
Committee seeks clarification on Tanah Abang
Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta
A special committee of the City Council investigating a disputed
plan to renovate the Tanah Abang textile market will ask 12
institutions and individuals to appear and answer questions.
"The special committee is expected to seek clarification (from
these institutions and individuals) so it can help resolve the
dispute," Muhamad Gunawan, the chairman of the Prosperous Justice
Party (PKS) faction in the council, said on Tuesday.
Democratic Party faction chairman Johny Wenas Polii said:
"Before we go ahead with the renovation, we have to track down
all of the relevant details on the plan."
The special committee includes 23 members representing the
seven factions of the council and another member from the
council's secretariat.
The PKS faction, which has five councillors on the committee,
is eager to hear from the civil engineering team from the Bandung
Institute of Technology (ITB) that performed a study on the
structural soundness of blocks B, C, D and E of Tanah Abang.
"We want to know if the team really recommended the total
reconstruction of the market's four blocks," PKS faction
secretary Selamat Nurdin said.
City-run market operator PD Pasar Jaya has repeatedly claimed
that the four blocks had to be torn down and completely rebuilt
based on a recommendation by the City Construction Supervision
and Regulation Agency. The agency reportedly based its
recommendation on a study by the ITB team, which said the blocks
were no longer structurally sound and were in danger of
collapse.
The planned reconstruction of the market has been strongly
opposed by vendors, who have demanded the administration conduct
another study on the soundness of the buildings.
Vendors won a temporary victory when the Central Jakarta
District Court issued an asset preservation order barring PD
Pasar Jaya from renovating, selling or tearing down the market
until the dispute had been settled.
Selamat said Edi Yuwono, the president director of developer
PT Sari Kebon Jeruk Permai, would also be summoned to explain the
direct appointment by the administration of his company to
renovate the market's four blocks.
Edi was recently detained by the city police over his alleged
involvement in a lottery graft case, but was released after 20
days in detention.
"That is why the faction also suggested the committee summon
former Jakarta Police chief Comr. Gen. Makbul Padmanagara for
questioning," he said.
Governor Sutiyoso reiterated on Tuesday that his
administration would go forward with renovation plans.
I-box
Insitutitions/individuals to be summoned by City Council:
1. PT Andilou Tobatama, developer of 600 kiosks in the market's
Block B
2. Abdul Kahfi, former deputy governor
3. Sahril Tanjung, former PD Pasar Jaya president director
4. Comr. Gen. Makbul Padmanagara, former city police chief
5. Edi Yuwono of developer PT Sari Kebon Jeruk Permai
6. Consultant at the Bandung Institute of Technology
7. City Architects consultant
8. Tanah Abang vendors' association
9. PD Pasar Jaya
10. City Public Works Agency
11. City Construction Supervision and Regulation Agency
12. City Spatial Planning Agency