Idea for new municipality in Tangerang challenged

Multa Fidrus, The Jakarta Post, Tangerang

Residents of six districts in Tangerang regency are at odds over the idea to form a new municipality, which would border on Jakarta.

Joint Committee for the Establishment of Independent Cipasera (KBKO) secretary-general Hidayat Suhali, said on the weekend that the organization had started to carry out a feasibility study on the formation of the municipality.

"We will submit the results to Tangerang council soon. The people should be given a say, as the issue is directly related to their homes," he told The Jakarta Post.

The idea emerged in 1992, when a group comprising residents of Ciputat, Pamulang, Serpong and Pondok Aren realized that the southern part of Tangerang, which is an industrial and residential area, could potentially become a municipality.

The name Cipasera was derived from the names of the four districts.

By 2000, the residents of newly established Cisauk and Pegedangan districts expressed their intention to become part of Cipasera, which would have a total population of 229,000.

The joint committee itself, according to Hidayat, was formed last week and comprises 21 social organizations, including the martial arts group Silat Satria Nusantara Lembaga Tangerang; Cipasera Arts Council; the youth wing of 30-million-strong Muslim organization Nahdlatul Ulama, GP-Ansor; an organization affiliated with the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI- P), Banteng Muda Indonesia; and Golkar's Pemuda Pancasila.

Another organization to work hand-in-hand with the Joint Committee, the Coordinating Body for the Establishment of Cipasera (Bakor), elected on Sunday the director of Rakyat Merdeka daily, Margiono, as its chairman.

Head of Tangerang Spatial and Building Layout Agency, Bunyamin Davnie, said that the administration did not have the authority to approve or reject the plan, which would be proposed to the House of Representatives and the Ministry of Home Affairs at a later date.

"Let the residents of the six districts decide whether they are ready to separate from Tangerang," he said.

Many residents are reportedly skeptical over the idea, which they say represents "the ambitions of certain people".

"Speaking on behalf of myself and residents, I do not feel that our wishes are taken into consideration by the Joint Committee. They claim to represent the people, but which people are they talking about?" said chief of Rawa Mekar village in Ciputat, Abdul Rohim.

Abdul is also the chairman of Tangerang's Communication Forum of Village Chiefs.

Similarly, Agus, chief of Jelupang village in Serpong said that the establishment of the Joint Committee was engineered to accommodate the interests of several people who wanted to control the vast area, and "should be ignored".