Squatters still refuse to move from Kapuk

JAKARTA (JP): Some 700 squatters in Kapuk subdistrict, West Jakarta, are still reluctant to move from the area despite repeated warnings from the West Jakarta authorities.

Last week, the West Jakarta Public Order and Security Office issued another demolition order, requiring that the squatters immediately pull down their houses to make way for the construction of a housing complex. The authorities set Aug. 28 (today) as the deadline for them to demolish their houses. After the deadline passes, the authorities will forcibly demolish the houses.

Karsidin, the office's head, said the demolition orders were issued after the squatters refused to budge from the site despite the fact that many of them have accepted compensation from the state-owned housing company, Perum Perumnas.

He added that Perum Perumnas, based on a gubernatorial decree, has the right to use 334 hectares of land in Kapuk and Cengkareng Timur for the development of housing complexes.

Workers

So far Perum Perumnas has built 1,190 low-cost houses and is currently still constructing a low-cost apartment complex for low-income people, mostly factory and construction workers.

Perum Perumnas has offered the squatters a compensation rate of Rp 20,000 (US$9.09) to Rp 65,000 per square meter of structure.

Didi Setiadi, head of the Perum Perumnas Cengkareng office claimed that the company had paid compensation to the squatters. "Only 96 of them have not accepted the compensation," he said.

The company also has offered subsidies which could enable them to buy low-cost houses in the area, Didi said.

Mari Suud, one of the squatters, told The Jakarta Post on Saturday that he and some other families in Kapuk refuse to accept the compensation rate offered by Perum Perumnas. "We are demanding a higher rate of compensation," he said, but declined to specify the precise amount they are demanding. (29)