PPP denies asking for spaces at Glodok Plaza

JAKARTA (JP): The United Development Party (PPP)'s city chapter chairman Djaffar Badjeber denied on Wednesday that his faction or its members had asked for a quota of spaces at the rebuilt Glodok Plaza in West Jakarta.

"It's a lie and slander. Give me the names," Djaffar, who is also the City Council deputy chairman, said.

He suspected a certain party circulated the rumor after his party questioned alleged corrupt practices of the city-owned market operator PD Pasar Jaya when it presented its overview of Governor Sutiyoso's accountability speech last week.

He insisted that the appointment of private firm PT Betawi Lestari Jaya by PD Pasar Jaya to market shops in the plaza was illegal.

"The appointment should have been made through an open tender. PT Betawi was even unregistered at the Ministry of Justice when it signed a marketing deal with Pasar Jaya last year," Djaffar remarked.

He said his faction found that the private company, which should have transferred Rp 24 billion (US$2.4 million) for about 200 shops at the fourth and fifth floors of the market to Pasar Jaya according to the agreement, managed to pay only Rp 6 billion which it collected from traders as booking fees.

Djaffar insisted that a decision to insert the alleged scandal in the faction's reply to Sutiyoso's speech was made in a faction plenary meeting, not by an individual as reported.

A source at the PPP faction said on Monday that the faction originally did not intend to expose the Glodok Plaza case, but surprisingly its spokesman, A. Chudlary Syafi'i Hadzami referred to it.

Another source said that Chudlary, who is also the PPP's city chapter deputy chairman, brought the case forward after his demand for 10 shops at the plaza was turned down.

The source said that the PPP faction owns several shops in markets under PD Pasar Jaya's auspices, including Kenari Market in Central Jakarta.

Chudlary, who is a member of the council's commission C for financial affairs, could not be reached for comment on Wednesday.

Djaffar, however, admitted that some councillors had expressed their interest in opening shops at the Glodok Plaza or helping fellow party members to obtain shops.

"But they have not asked for them to be free of charge. They wanted to buy the shops, and that did not violate the law," he claimed.

PD Pasar Jaya's president Syahril Tanjung stated that some councillors had asked for spaces at the market, which was burned down during mass riots in May 1998.

Separately, Sutiyoso rejected on Wednesday the call to dismiss Pasar Jaya's executives since it had no clear basis.

"The reason to punish my subordinates should be clear. If it's just based on revenge (against Syahril), I cannot fulfill it," he told reporters.

He said that councillors, in their personal capacity, are allowed to own shops in the market, provided they follow the procedures. (jun)