Dodgy land deal sealed by group

JAKARTA (JP): About 30 former employees of the now defunct Ministry of Information sealed entry to a 14,198-square meter plot of land in South Jakarta on Monday which once belonged to the ministry's State Film Production Company (PPFN).

The film production company exchanged the land, located in the strategic area at Jl. Kapten Tendean 41, with another plot of land in the outskirts of the city, on Jl. M. Kahfi II, Cipedak subdistrict, Jagakarsa district, South Jakarta, in an unscrupulous land exchange scam, according to the protesters, Antara reported.

"We want the land to be returned to the government," said Edy Noor, the coordinator of the Solidarity Forum for Former Employees of the Ministry of Information (FSPP).

The forum was established following President Abdurrahman Wahid's decision to disband the Ministry of Information in October 1999.

The State Film Production Company once operated Studio 41 on the site, which was the biggest production studio in South East Asia. During its golden years in the 1980s, the company produced the extremely popular Si Unyil (600 episodes), screened by the state television network.

Noor alleged that the land swap agreement, signed in 1993 by the State Film Production Company and PT Rina Citra Rusanindo Jakarta and certified by public officer Sugiri Kadarisman, was fraudulent. This fact had already been revealed by the State Audit Agency, he added.

Noor said the tender for the land swap was only joined by four companies, which was far less than the required number. The highest bid was Rp 10.904 billion however, strangely, the appraisal team only valued the land at Rp 9.4 billion.

In accordance with the land swap agreement, PT Rina Citra constructed a building for the State Film Production Company on the new site at Jl. M. Kahfi II.

The agreement also said that any problem related to land ownership should be settled within 18 months. However, the new building's entrance gate was later sealed by another party who claimed to own the land.

"It's been more than seven years and ownership of the land is still in dispute. The land swap agreement should be annulled for the sake of law," Noor said.

Noor said that his forum reported the case to the Attorney General's Office on March 1, demanding further investigation.