Public reluctant to go to new govt offices
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.