Residents protest over school plan

Residents protest over school plan

JAKARTA (JP): Hundreds of Jelambar residents protested a
private foundation's plan to build a technical high school on a
3,000-square-meter plot saying that the plot has been designated
by the city as a public park.

"Based on the information I got from the West Jakarta planning
office, the location code is OOL meaning that the land is already
allocated for a public park," R.V.L. Gurning, spokesman for
Jelambar residents, told the City Council Commission A which
oversees governmental affairs yesterday.

The disputed land is located on community unit (RW) 1 and RW 2
of Kavling Polri Jelambar, a plot of land mostly owned by police
officers.

Gurning said that the residents had raised around Rp 3 million
(US$1,376) to finance the park renovation. It was halted,
however, due to the plan of Bhara Raharja Foundation, to build
Bhara Trikora Technical High School on the park location.

"The park renovation is also aimed at supporting the city
administration's program to plant one million trees in Jakarta
this year," he said.

According to a resident, who asked not to be identified, the
Bhara Raharja foundation is now building zinc fences surrounding
the park location.

Gurning said that the residents asked the chief of the
Jelambar subdistrict and the chief of the West Jakarta city
planning office to revoke the licenses of Bhara Trikora school
building in November 1992 but no reply was given.

He said that the residents were shocked when they received the
subdistrict chief's invitation on July 11th asking the board
members of Bhara Raharja Foundation to attend a meeting of
residents who planned to discuss construction of the school.

"We decided to turn down the invitation because we knew all
along that our wishes would be ignored," he said, adding that he
was amazed to learn that the foundation already possessed the
building permit and the other required licenses.

Facilities

Masagoes Uzwar Fatommy Asaari, the vice chairman of Commission
A, said that based on information from an official of the West
Jakarta city planning office, the 3,000 square meter plot in
Jelambar will be used to build education facilities and school
buildings.

"The people could have enjoyed the plot as park if the city
hadn't had plans to use it as an education facility," he said.

Masagoes added that the ministry of education and culture has
given a recommendation to the city stating that the area still
needs more schools.

Gurning said that the residential area already has one primary
school, one junior high school and two high schools including
Bhara Trikora Technical High School.

The foundation earlier established a technical high school
located some 500 meters from the park. Its name is also Bhara
Trikora.

Trudy Fiki, another resident, said that the existence of the
technical high school would cause problems "because the Bhara
Trikora students like to brawl," she said.

Gurning said that parts of the existing Bhara Trikora school
building are rented to SMEA PGRI, a private economic high school.

Chairman of Commission A, Mohammad Aman, pledged that the
commission would study the case thoroughly and would also use the
original city plans as a basis for further conversation with
other parties.(mas)