Sutiyoso irked by company's annulment of land-swap deal
Sutiyoso irked by company's annulment of land-swap deal
Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
A protracted legal dispute concerning a land swap involving state
SMP 56 junior high school in prestigious Melawai, South Jakarta,
has apparently irked Governor Sutiyoso, who accused on Monday the
developer, PT Tata Disantara, of having a "vested interest".
"The legal process is still ongoing, but the company decided
to annul the swap. Such a move has raised suspicion over what lay
behind the deal and the one-sided annulment," Sutiyoso said at
City Hall.
Annulment would simply mean that the city administration had
to return the two properties in Jeruk Purut and Bintaro, both in
South Jakarta, to the company.
The building at Jeruk Purut is currently earmarked for the
relocation of SMP 56 students, while the building in Bintaro
accommodates state SMA 87 high school.
"It's business interests would then affect more students, who
are currently studying at these schools (Jeruk Purut and
Bintaro), and not only students who insist on staying in the
Melawai building -- that makes no sense," Sutiyoso remarked.
Earlier, PT Tata Disantara spokesperson Dian A Zulkarnain said
in a statement that the company would not proceed with the land
swap if it were not in accordance with existing procedures and
regulations.
The deal dates back to 2001, when the Ministry of Education
and PT Tata Disantara signed a controversial property transfer
deal.
The company, which is owned by former manpower minister,
businessman Abdul Latief, planned to build a "business and
management institute" at the Melawai site, close to Latief's
Pasaraya Grande shopping mall.
However, students, parents and teachers of SMP 56 opposed the
deal, citing that it had been made without their consent.
They filed a civil suit in protest at the land swap, but the
South Jakarta District Court threw it out last December. The
parents and teachers then appealed to the Jakarta High Court.
Late last month, they sought protection from the National
Commission on Human Rights in the face of eviction planned by the
administration and instructions to cease teaching activities at
the Melawai building.