Koja residents will fight for higher compensation
Koja residents will fight for higher compensation
JAKARTA (JP): Residents in Koja Utara subdistrict in North
Jakarta have pledged to continue fighting for higher compensation
for their land, despite being warned off by the mayor.
Head of the Koja resident's delegation H.M. Saman told
reporters that all of his members will continue to fight because
they have rights to the land and the battle is not over yet.
"The mayor has lied, we are not losing in court because we
filed an appeal to High Court, and the residents never made any
negative statements which can cause unrest," Saman said.
Saman said on March 7, Mayor Suprawito made a false statement
before the press saying that Koja residents had lost in court and
that the residents lied by saying that security officers had
intimidated them.
"The intimidation did happen. As a result many of our members
accepted the compensation rate set by the mayoralty because they
were frightened," Saman said.
Saman said that there are around 3,000 residents who rejected
the compensation.
The dispute over the land compensation arose after PT Pelindo
II announced last year it would appropriate 90 hectares of land
inhabited by 9,037 families of almost 40,000 people. The company
plans to build a cargo terminal expansion in a joint-venture with
PT Humpuss, the widely diversified business group owned by
President Soeharto's youngest son, Hutomo Mandala Putra.
After a number of previously tedious negotiations failed to
reach an agreement, North Jakarta Mayor Suprawito decided to
break the deadlock by offering between Rp 100,000 (US$46.8) and
Rp 160,000 ($75) per square meter, Rp 10,000 higher than the rate
set by PT Pelindo II.
The Koja residents, however, insisted that the compensation be
set at Rp 2.275 million, which is even higher than the rate
offered by private developers to residents living in the most
expensive business districts in the city.
Koja Utara subdistrict, located adjacent to the Tanjung Priok
container terminal, has been earmarked for a new cargo terminal
site. The new terminal, which is being built at a cost of US$498-
million, is expected to start operation in October 1998.
Saman said residents have the right to the land based on a
letter from the governor to Pelindo and a letter from the
minister of finance to the minister of transportation.
"The letter states that the land appropriation in Koja should
be conducted safely and the residents should receive appropriate
compensation," Saman said. (yns)