Public reluctant to go to new govt offices
Wahyuana, Bekasi
It has been a month since the Bekasi administration relocated to Sukamahi in Cikarang, but residents are still reluctant to approach the new government offices.
"It is located about 50 kilometers from where it used to be, but there is not much public transportation available to get there. I have to take a taxi, which costs me Rp 100,000 (US$11.23) for a return trip," Herman of West Bekasi told The Jakarta Post.
Herman, together with his friends Andi and Asep, had previously attended the old government offices daily to check the job vacancies posted at the manpower agency.
An agency official claimed that since the relocation, less companies were offering jobs. Previously, the official said, the agency could secure employment for 1,000 to 2,000 people a month. Reportedly, civil servants who work at the offices go home in the early afternoon, at around 2 p.m., while some don't show up at all.
Regent Saleh Manaf acknowledged the transportation difficulties that his subordinates faced.
"The administration added Rp 200,000 to their monthly salary to help with transportation costs ... We're all still adapting to the new workplace," he told the Post on Wednesday.
The office compound is located on 40 hectares of land, which was provided through developer PT Delta Mas, a subsidiary of PT Sinar Mas Groups. Some 25 hectares of the land has been designated for offices, while the remaining 15 hectares is to be a residential area for officials. The construction of the offices will cost the administration Rp 100 billion.
The 40 hectare area is among 3,000 hectares of land owned by Delta Mas in Sukamahi.
City Hall, as well as the City Council building are located there. However, the councillors seem reluctant to move to the new offices due to their location.
"It seems that the government offices no longer belong to the Bekasi people, but to PT Delta Mas. It was a decision taken by the previous regent and council," councillor Nirwan Fauzi told the Post.
According to residents, the presence of the Bekasi offices had caused the price of land to skyrocket from Rp 5,000 per meter square in the 1990s, to Rp 500,000 per meter square.
Two foreign companies are soon to contribute to the development of the Sukamahi area.
Several housing compounds are also located there, adopting various themes such as Malibu, Hawaii and Nice.
Darmin Husada, a prominent Bekasi figure, criticized the development of the Delta Mas area for not reflecting Bekasi, or indeed Indonesian, cultural values.
The price of a shop-house or a house in the area is between Rp 90 million and Rp 1 billion.