Delay evacuating shops owners: Legislators
Delay evacuating shops owners: Legislators
JAKARTA (JP): Legislators have asked the government to postpone the evacuation of 100 shop owners in the Chinatown district.
Legislators from the Indonesian Democratic Party faction sent a letter to the West Jakarta mayor yesterday asking him to delay the Jan. 31 deadline to move the shop owners out of their premises.
In the letter, a copy of which was made available to The Jakarta Post, the legislators requested the government first settle the dispute between the shop owners and PT Binacitra Tataswati, a company appointed by city-owned PD Pasar Jaya to manage the Glodok Metro Bridge, a city-owned property where the 100 shop owners run their businesses.
Mayor Sutardjianto sent a letter to the shop owners on Jan. 24, instructing them to vacate the premises.
At issue was a dispute over the amount of rental at the premises. PT Binacitra's offer of Rp 20 million to Rp 22 million per square meter for 20 years was considered too high by the shop owners.
Looming over the dispute is the government's plan to build a three-level freeway in the district that may see the walkway demolished.
Last month, the shop owners expressed their grievances to the House of Representatives.
In their letter, the legislators said that a previous plan to hold a gathering to seek a solution to the dispute had never happened.
It also said that their earlier request for an explanation about PT Binacitra's legal dealings with PD Pasar Jaya had not been addressed.
But PT Binacitra's lawyer O.C. Kaligis told the Post yesterday that he had met with legislators in the House.
The shop owners plan to file two lawsuits today, one against the mayor and the other requesting the cancellation of the appointment of PT Binacitra by PD Pasar Jaya.
Shop owners told the Post that the vagueness of PT Binacitra Tataswati's existence as the newly appointed management of the property, in addition to the exorbitant rent demanded by the company, has aroused suspicion among them.
"We aren't fighting for political influence, nor are we demanding any rights. Just clarity about our future," a shop owner told the Post. (14)