Semen Padang strongly urged to fork out compensation

Semen Padang strongly urged to fork out compensation

Kasparman, The Jakarta Post, Padang

Residents of West Sumatra's subdistrict of Lubuk Kilangan
where state-owned cement factory PT Semen Padang stands, have
renewed their demand that Semen Padang not only pay compensation
for 412 hectares of their communal land but also share a small
part of its income to promote social development programs in the
subdistrict.

Syamsyair Datuk Pamuncak, chief of the Lubuk Kilangan
subdistrict, said that out of respect for communal rights
guaranteed by the Constitution and by law, the government and
Semen Padang should pay compensation for the communal land
appropriated for the company's operation.

"We have not received any compensation, either from the former
Dutch colonial administration or the Indonesian government, for
the land where the company stands and extracts its raw materials
for the cement products.

"We have the pride of having a giant factory but most of us
cannot enjoy it as most locals are still living in poor
conditions," he told The Jakarta Post at his house on Friday.

He said community and religious leaders in the subdistrict had
agreed in a recent meeting that besides paying compensation for
the land, the company should also pay Rp 5 for every kilogram of
cement it produces to help social development programs in the
subdistrict.

"We also demand the government give a seat in the company's
board of commissioners for the subdistrict as a sign of the
commitment between the local people and the government to
maintain the company's operation," he said.

Pamuncak said his was considering filing a lawsuit against the
company and the central government to seek justice for the Lubuk
Kilangan community whose land was appropriated for the cement
factory.

Zainal One, a community leader in the subdistrict, was
surprised by the prolonged dispute over the company's status,
saying the local people were not concerned whether the company
would be spun off from holding company PT Semen Gresik or
controlled by Mexican cement company Cemex SA de CV.

"More importantly the company must be managed professionally
to support the national development program. The more
professional the company management, the more it will contribute
to the local people and the government," he said.

He pointed out that most people in the subdistrict were of the
same opinion that the government should sell some 30 percent to
40 percent of its shares to Cemex to allow both sides to join
forces to manage the company professionally and to eradicate the
alleged rampant corruption and collusion within the company.

Semen Padang was established by NV Nederlandsch Indische
Portland Cement in 1910 and was later taken over by the
Indonesian government. In 1995, PT Semen Gresik acquired Semen
Padang and PT Semen Tonasa in South Sulawesi.

Last year, the West Sumatran people demanded the company be
spun off from Gresik to prevent the government from selling it to
Cemex.

Zaharman, coordinator of Care for Padang Community Forum,
called on the central government to go ahead with its plan to
reshuffle the company's management and revamp the working system
in an attempt to curb corruption in the company.

"Only with the planned reshuffle, the government will be able
to improve the company's performance," he said.