Former SMP 56 teacher fights to be reinstated
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The former principal of State Junior High School (SMP) 56, Nurlaila, is planning to sue Governor Sutiyoso in the State Administrative Court next Monday for firing her as a civil servant.
"The letter, which had the intent of discharging me, was issued on Dec. 6, 2004, but it said that I was fired since February (2004). Such a letter cannot be retroactive, that's why I am going to State Administrative Court," she told The Jakarta Post on Monday on the sidelines of an education seminar held at the National Library, Central Jakarta.
Nurlaila said she was the only teacher who still rejected the land-swap deal between the Ministry of National Education and PT Tata Disantara, a company owned by former minister of manpower Abdul Latif, in 2000, which forced the school to move out from the strategic business area in Melawai to Jeruk Purut, both in South Jakarta.
Fearing that they would be fired, all her fellow SMP 56 teachers chose to move to designated replacement schools in Jeruk Purut, South Jakarta. The schools were state junior high schools (SMP) 11, 12, 13, 19, all of which are located in South Jakarta.
"The reason why I'm still fighting for my rights is because there has been no legal judgment on the status of my school. The judge at the South Jakarta District Court said that the school status is unchanged," the 48-year old said.
She said that the administration had also stopped paying her salary since last year and taken away her rights as a civil servant to receive any other facilities, including a pension. The city administration downgraded her civil servant rank from IV-A to III-D.
The case of the land-swap is now in the Supreme Court, after both the South Jakarta District Court and the High Court threw out a civil suit against the Ministry of National Education and PT Tata Disantara.
Aside from administrative problems, Nurlaila believed that there was an indication of corruption in the land-swap deal because the land was only sold for only Rp 2.5 million per square meter, while the tax valuation of the land was Rp 9.65 million per square meter.
Nurlaila, who was supported by lawyers from Legal Aid LBH APIK and the Human Rights Lawyers Association (APHI), said she was convinced that if the judges at the State Administrative Court were fair, she would win the case.
"Unless the judges take sides in favor of powerful persons that I'm up against, I will win the case. But, win or loose I already gathered support to continue struggling for my rights," said the woman, who had taught at SMP 56 since 1990. (006)