Kapuk Muara residents fear eviction

Kapuk Muara residents fear eviction

Zakki Hakim
The Jakarta Post
Jakarta

Some 700 residents of Kapuk Muara subdistrict, Penjaringan, North
Jakarta, felt some slight relieve on Monday when city public
order officials did not evict them even though a deadline set by
the administration for them to leave had passed.

However, they are still living in fear of possible eviction at
any time following the 72-hour deadline given to them in a letter
dated July 3 and signed by North Jakarta Mayor Effendi Anas.

Tasyaya Purnama, the residents' coordinator, told The Jakarta
Post that the mayor's eviction order was the second one they had
received. The first came on May 12 and was signed by Penjaringan
district head Setiabudi.

He said that the city administration had offered them
compensation of Rp 500,000 (US$61) per family for the houses,
regardless of their size. The residents were also urged to move
to low-cost apartments in Pluit, where the monthly rent is around
Rp 90,000.

Gozali, a 60-year-old Betawi (native Jakarta) figure in the
neighborhood, turned down the offer.

"I have all the documents (for the house). The administration
should pay accordingly or at least compensate us with suitable
land somewhere else in the city," said Gozali, who has lived in
the area since he was born in 1943.

Besides possible eviction, Gozali also feared an outbreak of
fire given their refusal to leave the area.

"You know ... when there's a planned eviction, it is usually
followed by a fire. We are prepared for the worst," he said.

"Our last hope is an audience with the governor and the City
Council," he added grimly.

The residents, mostly Betawi people, have lived in the area
for two generations. They claim to have proper title documents
for their houses and land, and insisted that they did not live
right on the river bank even though their houses are located only
a meter from the river.

A source at the North Jakarta Municipality told the Post that
the Kapuk Muara case was a part of the administration's bigger
plan for improved drainage along the Angke river in an effort to
overcome flood problems in the city.

The administration plans to widen the river to 45 meters from
its current width of eight meters.

The source said that the plan would affect the lives of
thousands of people along the Angke's riverbanks. But the
administration, in cooperation with a non-governmental
organization, has provided some low-cost apartments to house the
affected residents.