'New rule brings back Soeharto era'

'New rule brings back Soeharto era'

The issuance of Presidential Regulation No. 36/2005 on land
acquisition for the development of public projects has given the
government more power to take land off private citizens in the
name of public interest. The Jakarta Post talked to residents
about the issue.

Ian, 36, works at a financial company at the Jakarta Stock
Exchange building on Jl. Jend. Sudirman, South Jakarta. He lives
with his wife in Pamulang, Tangerang.

I certainly don't agree with the regulation. The government
should respect residents' ownership rights. It cannot simply take
away land from its owners without their consent, including
consent about the amount of compensation paid for their land.

Personally, I would gladly sell land to the government if it
could assure me it would really be used for the public good and
also gave me reasonable compensation for it.

However, what I am afraid of the most is that the regulation
will be misused by corrupt officials to deny residents' their
rights to the land in the name of the public; that instead they
will end up giving the land to shopping mall developers. We have
to ensure that the government announces its plans specifically
and in detail to the public so that the people can help monitor
the implementation of the projects.

Widyawati, 30, a marketing employee with a financial company
at the Artha Graha building on Jl. Jend. Sudirman in South
Jakarta. She lives with her husband and a child in Karet, Central
Jakarta.

"That regulation brings to mind the era of former president
Soeharto when the government was so powerful and people were
always asked to sacrifice. I don't agree with this. The
government must also consider the people's rights, not only
demand the people render their obligations to the state.

In the past the government failed to give decent compensation
to land owners, forcing them to move onto the city's borders
where land the is cheaper. This is not fair. This experience
means we should question what "the public interest" really means.

I am also sad to observe that some officials appear to be not
taking the opportunity to aggressively build ample public
infrastructure projects to impress the public in order to garner
political support for their next elections.
--The Jakarta Post