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