Tenants ask legal protection from Komnas HAM, councilors
Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Dozens of tenants in low-cost apartments in Pluit, North Jakarta, sought legal protection on Tuesday to fight the apartment operator's plans to evict them on Wednesday.
The residents, who are refusing to pay PT Jakarta Propertindo's planned rent hike of 72 percent, said they would ask for legal support from the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) to avoid a possible violent confrontation.
"There are many security guards around the apartments, who were deployed by the company today. They have started to intimidate us to pay the higher rent or leave," Acin, a tenant, said.
"We believe Komnas HAM is capable of forcing Propertindo to halt the eviction plan and to negotiate with us."
The tenants' legal representative Leonard Sitompul, of the Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights Association (PBHI), said the tenants appealed to Komnas HAM because they did not believe the Penjaringan Police would protect them.
"We are afraid tomorrow's eviction will turn violent. We would have asked the police to protect us but we saw there were some officers among the (security) guards," he said.
Komnas HAM vice chairman Solahudin Wahid told the tenants the commission would help mediate with them and PT Jakarta Propertindo.
"I wrote and faxed a letter right after the meeting asking the company to postpone the eviction plan. We have also invited the company directors to come here on Thursday to meet with the tenants," Solahudin said.
Leonard said tenants had also sought help from city councillors to stop the eviction plan. They were received by Rosman Siahaan, a councilor overseeing legal and administrative affairs.
"The councillor made a phone call to Ongki Sukasah and Rico Perlambang, two of the company's board of directors, in front of the tenants to cancel the eviction. Let's see what happens tomorrow," he said.
PT Jakarta Propertindo management could not be reached for comment. An employee with the company, Edi, said none of the directors were in the office.
The dispute started at the end of 2002 when the company announced a 72 percent hike in rents in the apartments for the year 2003. Some 480 families -- about 3,000 people -- in the apartments rejected the increase, saying it was too high, too sudden and made without consultation.
Since then, the company has frequently cut the tenants' supplies of water and electricity.
Rent for a ground floor apartment was increased from Rp 492,000 (US$58.6) per month to Rp 848,000.
"The rent is too high for us. I think they're trying to kick us out of the apartments as I've heard they plan to build a commercial building on the site," Acin said.