Hearing adjourned, flood victims disappointed
Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Flood victims who filed a class action suit against the President, Jakarta governor and West Java governor were disappointed on Wednesday as the first hearing was postponed due to a lack of understanding of procedures by defense lawyers.
Presiding judge Kornel Sianturi of the Central Jakarta District Court said the trial was adjourned for two weeks as President Megawati Soekarnoputri's lawyers did not have proper power of attorney credentials and the West Java governor A.R. Nuriana failed entirely to send any representatives to the court.
Upon hearing the decision, about one hundred flood victims who had crammed the courtroom booed and jeered. Many of them expressed their disappointment at the lack of seriousness shown by national leaders of their plight.
Azas Tigor Nainggolan, the coordinator for the advocacy team for Jakarta flood victims, criticized the authorities for paying little attention and not responding to the flood victims' outcry.
Two state prosecutors, Tambok Nainggolan and Tuksir, were present at the court as the defense lawyers representing the President.
But when judge Sianturi asked them to present their power of attorney documents from the President, they could not come up with them.
Tigor raised an objection, saying they did not have the right to be in the court room.
"You have heard what the lawyer said. You need to leave the room at once" the judge said.
The two obeyed the order without protest.
Governor Sutiyoso was represented by lawyer Yan Juanda Saputra.
The plaintiffs' lawyers also protested because Juanda had failed to register the authorized letter to the court clerk before the trial.
Meanwhile, there is no news from Nuriana or his representatives.
Outside the courtroom, Tambok told reporters that they only had a "verbal" order to represent the President from the State Secretary.
"We only received a verbal order from the State Secretary to come ... ," he said.
The flood victims filed a lawsuit on March 13, demanding compensation of more than Rp 1.2 trillion (US$125 million) for the immaterial and material damages and losses caused by the recent floods.
The authorities were blamed mainly for their failure to give early warning information and provide necessary emergency response prompting more than 97,000 families or 365,000 people to leave their homes and take shelter for weeks.
"If they provided early warning information and immediate response in support of the residents, the losses could have been greatly mitigated," said one of the lawyers, Tubagus Haryo Karbyanto of the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH).
Erni, a resident of Kampung Sawah, Rawa Malang, North Jakarta said she attended the trial with great interest.
"I hope we'll win and get compensation. I need money for working capital to restart my destroyed poultry breeding business," said Erni, who came to the court along with her baby. Her husband works as freelance porter at Tanjung Priok port.
The plaintiffs' team of lawyers consisting of 32 pro bono lawyers will face top-notch lawyers hired by Sutiyoso - Mohammad Assegaf, Yan Juanda Saputra, and R.E. Abikusno.
Both Assegaf and Yan are known for their work with high profile clients.
Nainggolan had criticized Sutiyoso's decision to hire expensive lawyers instead of assigning the city administration's legal bureau to handle the case. He also questioned the source of the money to pay them, creating speculation among observers that city budget funds may have been misallocated for his own defense.