Council seeks closure of warehouses in W. Jakarta

Council seeks closure of warehouses in W. Jakarta

Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Councillors are urging the Jakarta administration to close down
some 50 warehouses operating illegally since 1998 in Tegal Alur
and Kamal subdistricts in West Jakarta.

They also questioned why West Jakarta municipality officials
seemed to be turning a blind eye to the warehouses.

"Officials only come down hard on violations committed by
ordinary people, but do nothing against violations by big
business," said Muhammad Arifin, a councillor from the Prosperous
Justice Party (PKS), on Wednesday.

Arifin, a member of the City Council's legal and
administrative affairs commission, also voiced suspicions of
collusion and corruption involving officials and businessmen to
ensure the continued operation of the illegal warehouses.

The existence of the some 50 illegal warehouses -- 20 in Tegal
Alur and 30 in Kamal -- was revealed by Commission D for
development affairs on Tuesday following visits to the two
subdistricts.

West Jakarta municipal secretary Chaeruddin acknowledged the
existence of 50 illegal warehouses in the two districts but
offered no explanations as to how their continued operation was
possible.

He said during a hearing with Commission A on Wednesday that
there were 150 warehouses in the two subdistricts, including the
illegal ones, which had mostly been in existence since 1998.

According to Chaeruddin, the 50 illegal warehouses were built
without permits, or with permits but outside designated areas,
including in residential areas.

He provided no specific information on either type of illegal
warehouse.

West Jakarta building agency staffer Ina Panjaitan said her
agency had issued a number of warnings to the owners of the
illegal warehouses. She admitted, however, that the warnings had
not been followed up by enforcement action.

For his part, Chaeruddin said the administration had not shut
down the illegal warehouses for fear of causing job losses as
they employed hundreds of people.

However, another Commission A member, Marthin Octavianus
Makatita, said this was no excuse for the West Jakarta
administration to not enforce the law.

Marthin said he suspected that officials had not taken action
as they were receiving bribes from the warehouse owners.

"There must be something happening when these illegal
warehouses have been allowed to continue operating for years. I
believe that corruption is afoot here," said Marthin, a
councillor from the Golkar Party.

Commission A chairman Achmad Suaidy said the commission's
members would soon tour the two subdistricts to gather further
information.