Residents protest over compensation
JAKARTA (JP): Thirty residents of North Koja district, North Jakarta, protested outside City Council on Thursday to demand higher compensation for their land, which was acquired in 1994 for the construction of a 375-hectare asphalt plot for freight containers.
The residents said the compensation provided by developer PT Humpuss and Tanjung Priok Port operator PT Pelabuhan Indonesia (Pelindo) II was not reasonable.
"The compensation was too low," Arifin, the group's coordinator, said.
He said the residents received between Rp 100,000 (US$14) and Rp 300,000 per square meter.
"But we later found out that the two companies paid Rp 1,250,000 per square meter for another plot in the same area in 1998.
"Therefore we demand an adjustment to the compensation that we received in 1994, similar to the amount that other residents received in 1998," he said.
He said both companies asked North Koja residents in 1994 to sell their land because the 375-hectare area was set to be developed to store containers. The plot was inaugurated by former president Soeharto on Feb. 26, 1998.
Sagiman, another resident, said the money they received in 1994 was only enough to rent a house in a small alley in the Semper area, also in North Jakarta.
He also said the residents had been forced by the two companies to sell their land.
"We didn't want to sell our land and houses, but they threatened that they would take us to court," he said.
The North Koja residents now live in various locations across the city. Like Sagiman, most of them live in slums.
The residents were received by City Council Commission D councillors for development affairs.
Councillor Tarmidi Suhardjo of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), who is also the council deputy speaker, said the council would send a letter to both companies demanding an explanation over the matter.
"We will also try to arrange a meeting between residents and the companies, so that both parties can solve the problem," he said. (09)