'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