Ignorance of social cost

Ignorance of social cost

This week no less than 600 students from two primary schools
in South Jakarta have had to move to nearby schools due to sound
and air pollution.

They moved because they could no longer stand the harsh sound
of cement mixers, nor the high level of dust stirred up by the
trucks bringing in sand for the construction of apartments.

Just imagine how cramped the classrooms at the recipient
school are now, with students having to sit elbow to elbow.

Still another complaint about pollution was lodged Wednesday
by 40 students, who represented 400 students of an Islamic
boarding school. This time the problem was in Tangerang.

It seems that the capital of this nation has no heart, but
rather thrives on arrogance.

Warnings about this kind of excess were aired a long time ago
when we first started our development program.

These phenomena show that the development in the capital in
particular has not taken social costs into account. This is also
reflected in the traffic jams near housing estates, or the fancy
new shopping centers, going up throughout Jakarta. And it seems
that this rush toward progress victimizes those very people who
do not directly benefit from all of this development.

Capital investment is an important asset for development, but
the interests of the people should never be set aside for any
reason. It is time to insert the social costs of progress into
the capital's and the nation's development regulations.

-- Kompas, Jakarta