Surjadi denies slum fires were deliberate acts

Surjadi denies slum fires were deliberate acts

JAKARTA (JP): Governor Surjadi Soedirdja denied yesterday an
accusation that a series of recent fires in city slum areas were
deliberately set.

He said the accusation was unfounded as it was only based on
rumor. "I don't think there is any provincial government which
intentionally wants to burden its people," he said.

Surjadi made the remark in response to a question raised by a
senior journalist at a meeting between the governor and Jakarta
Military Commander Maj. Gen. Sutiyoso, and representatives of
city electronic and print media at the Millennium Hotel.

Many fire victims, who were ordered by the city administration
not to rebuild homes at fire sites soon after fires scorched
certain areas, usually jumped to conclusion that the municipality
was behind the fire incidents.

The real situation, Surjadi said, was that city officials
would ask what the municipality could do to help fire victims
after a fire took place.

"If fires happen to raze slums on state land, officials will
prohibit them from rebuilding homes at the same sites. This
decision is made for the sake of their own future, as the city
administration would build low-cost apartments to accommodate
them," he said.

The governor cited as example that when a fire took place in
Bendungan Hilir, Central Jakarta, in September, 1994, a 10-story,
low-cost apartment was immediately built there.

The decision was made after it was learned that the September
fire was the third at the same site.

"Local residents were really angry when they were told not to
rebuild their homes. City officials, who took a census of
residents living there, were even threatened by a resident with a
dagger," he said.

The project nearly failed as several high-ranking officials
did not agree with the construction project, because the
groundbreaking ceremony for the project took place just ahead of
an Asia-Pacific Economic Conference (APEC) forum in the city,
where many heads of state gathered, he said.

"However, as soon as President Soeharto gave the green light,
the project continued," he said.

At the project's inauguration, the person who threatened
officials with a dagger was asked to give a speech.

When asked of his reaction, he was moved and cried. "He told
us that the condition of adjacent slums was still dirty. When
will the municipality build another apartment there?" the
resident asked, as quoted by the governor.

Touching on another complaint, related to the collection of
illegal levies by city officials for the processing of permits,
the governor acknowledged it.

"Actually we've taken some measures, including raising
salaries of the civil servants in a bid to raise their welfare,"
he said.

Surjadi said that he was concerned about the condition, but
he said there were many demands for basic needs in Jakarta, which
were increasing.

He urged the public to be patient. He also asked people not to
mix up illegal levies with property taxes, which vary depending
on location. The more strategic the location of a property is,
the higher the tax will be, he said. (hhr)