Latief to sue Sutiyoso over prolonged SMP 56 land-dispute
Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Amid an environment of increasing dissatisfaction over Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso from various quarters, businessman Abdul Latief has become the latest party determined to sue the governor and has demanded that he resolve the protracted property dispute involving state middle school SMP 56 on Jl. Melawai Raya, South Jakarta.
"If this dispute is not resolved, then, sorry, but I will sue you even though I think of you as a younger brother when I was the (manpower) minister and you the (Jakarta Military) commander -- because the deal is valid," he addressed Sutiyoso via the media at City Hall on Friday.
The dispute centers on a land swap deal in which Latief traded his assets on Jl. Jeruk Purut, West Jakarta, and in Bintaro, South Jakarta, for the site of SMP 56. At the time the deal was made, the property belonged to the Ministry of Education.
The ministry proceeded to build state high school SMU 87 on the Bintaro site and relocated SMP 56 to Jeruk Purut. However, several teachers and dozens of students insisted on remaining at the old school, saying that the location was strategic and the land swap deal was invalid, among other reasons.
The issue became more complicated with the implementation of Regional Autonomy Law in 2001, when the ministry transferred some of its assets to the Jakarta administration, including the SMP 56 site. The transfer thus left the responsibility of vacating the premises in the hands of the Jakarta Governor.
Latief, the owner of Pasaraya Grande shopping mall in Blok M, which is located only a few hundred meters away from SMP 56, said he was offended by allegations that the deal was corrupt and that he would replace the school with a mall.
"I'm upset. People keep saying that I practice KKN (collusion, corruption and nepotism) ... I won't stand and be accused without fighting back," he said.
Latief said he had suffered a great loss from the deal, as he had planned to open a college at the site three years ago.
He also called on the government to annul the deal if it considered the deal to be invalid and had caused state losses.
When asked whether an annulment of the deal might force the administration to return Latief's assets and to seek alternative locations to accommodate 1,500 SMU 87 and SMP 56 students, Latief quipped, "That is not my business. That is (the administration's) problem."
Sutiyoso, who has said he sought an amicable solution, said he understood Latief's stance. "I am ready to face the lawsuit. I will not back down."
Meanwhile, backed by legislators of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the vigilant teachers and students resumed classes at the school on Friday, a day after two PDI-P legislators forcibly reopened the school. Policemen and public order officials had sealed the building on Sunday upon Sutiyoso's command.
The teachers, students and their parents of SMP 56 had filed a civil suit with the South Jakarta District Court against the government and city administration over the deal, but the court dropped the suit. The plaintiffs are now awaiting a ruling on their appeal with the Jakarta High Court.