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  • Safety Sought From Sidoarjo Mudflow Agency

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    The Sidoarjo regency administration is seeking a guarantee of safety from the government-backed Sidoarjo Mudflow Handling Agency (BPLS) that the dumping of hot mud into the River Porong will not trigger floods.

    Since October, 2006, BPLS has redirected 69 million cubic meters of hot mud into the river, triggering sedimentation that could lead to floods during the rainy season, expected to start in November.

    Sidoarjo regent Win Hendrarso warned BPLS that the increasingly shallow water on the riverbed as a result of the sedimentation could cause the river to overflow during the rainy season and his administration did not want mudflow victims to suffer yet more from such an incident.

    “We don’t want to see floods as a result of a domino effect from the mudflow dump site. According to reports from the regency monitoring team and local people, residents are facing this threat because part of the river near Besuki village is now covered by mud,” he said when making a field tour to the mudflow-affected villages here on Tuesday.

    He also said his staff would ask BPLS to take risk-prevention measures in case local people faced flooding, in anticipation of possible floods during the rainy season.” I don’t want any more people to fall victim to a new disaster in the future.”

    Chairman of the expert team of the 10 November Institute of Technology (ITS) of Surabaya I Nyoman Sutantra said his team had frequently warned BPLS of the risks and that was why they had strongly opposed the dumping into the river.

    “If BPLS continues dumping the mud into the river, the regencies of Sidoarjo, Pasuruan and Surabaya will be inundated during the incoming rainy season,” he told The Jakarta Post.

    Sutantra deplored that BPLS has ignored the new method which his team had proposed as a better solution to stop the mud leaks and to handle the mud currently dumped into the river.

    The expert team has called on BPLS to reroute the mudflow into the lower wetlands which later could be developed into farmland but the agency ignored this because it could not access adequate funds to acquire the wetlands now used by local farmers for shrimp and fish ponds.

    Deputy chief of BPLS operational affairs Soffian Hadi defended the agency’s dump site policy, saying the river has functioned as the means for dumping the mud into the sea.

    “Even during the rainy season, it will be easier for the agency to dump the mud into the sea via the river,” he said adding that during the rainy season, a stronger current could take away at least 1,600 cubic meters per second into the sea.

    He said that the dumping of hot mud into the river has been reduced up to 40 percent and five heavy pumps were now deployed everyday to help push the stream of water to take the mud away.

    Indra Harsaputra, The Jakarta Post

    Sumber: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2008/10/08/safety-sought-sidoarjo-mudflow-agency.html

  • Indonesia at the Crossroads (Sigh) Again

    Friday, 24 October 2008 – A defining struggle breaks out between a reformer and the king of the country’s old guard. In one direction beckons people like Sri Mulyani Indrawati, the country’s finance minister. Clean, capable, she’s the anti-politician Indonesians love and who foreign investors can’t stop talking about.

    In one direction beckons people like Sri Mulyani Indrawati, the country’s finance minister. Clean, capable, she’s the anti-politician Indonesians love and who foreign investors can’t stop talking about.

    Barely a month passes without Mulyani winning some sort of global gong; this month she’s Euromoney Magazine’s Finance Minister of the Year – for the second time. At 46, Mulyani symbolises the Indonesia that is possible, one that works properly, a competent resourceful Indonesia that wants to prosper away from the chronic corruption and cronyism that pollutes from the country’s grubby past.

    Gesturing the other way is the tendency represented by Aburizal Bakrie, Indonesia’s richest man (or at least he was until markets melted down). He sits with Mulyani in President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s cabinet, somewhat perversely as the minister primarily responsible for Indonesia’s poor, the Co-Ordinating Minister for People’s Welfare. Garrulous, oleaginous and a virtual law unto himself, the 62 year-old Bakrie is a holdover from the Suharto era, when the extent of one’s fortune tended to be determined by one’s proximity to the kleptator.

    Bakrie is the patriarch of the resources-to-telecoms Bakrie Brothers group, Indonesia’s biggest corporate entity. He’s in the cabinet because he and his colleagues at Kadin, Indonesia’s crony-heavy chamber of commerce, helped SBY’s 2004 tilt at the presidency, along with South Sulawesi’s wealthy patron Jusuf Kalla and the backing of Suharto’s old fief, Golkar, now a Bakrie-Kalla domain. The vice-presidency was Kalla’s payoff while Bakrie became Minister for the Economy. Foxes and henhouses, warned horrified Indonesians at the time.

    A decade after the fall of Suharto, Mulyani speaks for the new Indonesia, where government business is transacted cleanly, transparently and democratically. She is regarded as fearless, overhauling two of the most corrupt and inefficient institutions in Indonesia; customs and the tax office. At the customs office, she removed 1,500 staff and replaced them with 800 new officers, paying them several times more while warning that if they took backhanders justice would be swift and harsh. Efficiency was improved but vested interests who liked getting their goods nodded through – for a ‘fine’ of course – were not pleased.

    Bakrie is old Indonesia, operating in the shadows. Now the two of them seem to be on a collision course. Jakarta has been agog with their gathering feud since the financial crisis from the US subprime meltdown started rippling through Indonesia. The Bakrie group has been a victim of the growing economic crisis. Most of the listed component companies have spent more time suspended from stock exchange trading than having their shares transacted. Last week, the Indonesian government allowed state-owned companies to buy into stricken Bakrie companies, which are facing share price-linked loan defaults. It looks suspiciously like a bailout, the third Bakrie will have enjoyed.

    Mulyani wasn’t pleased. “I am the Finance Minister, my job is to protect the state fund,” she reportedly told Kadin. “Companies have a job to protect their own financial affairs. If they fail, it is their fault and they deserve to go bust.”

     This week the feud broke out all over the Indonesian media. On Wednesday, the Jakarta Post led with the story “Efforts Seen to Unseat Sri Mulyani.”

    The rub was in the second paragraph; “Efforts to topple the ‘iron lady’ intensified after she turned down requests from a major conglomerate for government assistance in saving its business empire in the wake of the global financial meltdown, sources said.” Bakrie wasn’t named but no other “major conglomerate” has been requesting government assistance in recent times.

    On Thursday, the government was forced to deny that the cabinet was “cracking.” The paper also reported a Wednesday meeting at VP Kalla’s office on the crisis facing the Bakrie group. It was attended by Kalla, Mulyani, central bank governor Boediono and Aburizal Bakrie, who has long insisted that he has no day-to-day involvement in the business affairs of his family’s empire.

    The dilemma is a delicate one for SBY. The economy is fragile in the jittery global environment and he needs an internationally trusted figure like Mulyani to help salve foreign investors. A career technocrat, Mulyani has no domestic political muscle to speak of. With the election coming up next April, SBY needs Bakrie – or at least someone with his resources – but does not necessarily want him, for all that he represents.

    But Bakrie isn’t as rich as he used to be, and will be even poorer if his empire, the basis of his political power, fails. The Bakrie Group isn’t a Fannie Mae or AIG but a failure of such a big corporate entity could ripple into a wider Indonesian economy.

    There was also the matter of PT Lapindo Brantas, the Bakrie-owned gas company whose disastrous gas well blowout in East Java kicked off a mud volcano that so far has displaced 75,000 villagers from their homes and turned into the country’s biggest environmental disaster. Lapindo Brantas claims the rupture was caused by a distant earthquake fault. The government may have held its nose, but although Bakrie has so far paid out Rp4 trillion to the displaced villagers, Jakarta has assumed responsibility for cleaning up the disaster and the Environment Ministry even awarded Lapindo Brantas its “Oscar” for complying with safety and environmental standards.

    The gulf between Mulyani and Bakrie was evidenced when Suharto died in January. A stream of deathbed wellwishers made their way to the Suharto compound on Jalan Cendana to bid the old tyrant farewell. Aburizal Bakrie was prominent among them. Sri Mulyani wasn’t. The Bakrie family got rich in the Suharto era. Mulyani was an academic, and later represented Indonesia at the IMF, hardly the most popular multilateral agency in Indonesia after its handling of the mid-1990s financial crisis, when Suharto fell. Her own nationalism has been called into question because of her stint with the IMF.

    Bakrie’s feud with Mulyani comes as SBY pulls ahead in opinion polls from former President Megawati Sukarnoputri. But it also comes as Parliament debates how much electoral support presidential aspirants will need to allow their candidacy. Bakrie’s Golkar and Megawati’s PDI-P dominate Parliament. SBY’s Democrat Party does not. Golkar and PDI-P could push through whatever deal they concoct. But Golkar’s problem is that no one in its leadership ranks is very popular. And the Indonesian electorate seem to be wising up to Megawati, a gormless shopaholic who seems to think a famous family name is birthright enough for a second term.

    Where this all goes is hard to predict. A rising force is the Islamist Prosperous Justice Party, the Partai Keadilan Sejahtera, or PKS, which speaks for 10-15 percent of the population and is gathering more support on its mosque-based anti-corruption platform. The PKS is behind the recent anti-pornography bill, which has divided this secular nation. SBY has a sprinkle of religious parties represented in his Cabinet, and could draw closer to the PKS if Parliament makes odious rules on candidacy qualifications.

    On the road ahead is next April’s presidential election. SBY wants another five-year term, and so does Megawati, whose first stint in the Istana Merdeka from 2001-04 was hardly electric. Indonesia descended to near the bottom of Transparency International’s graft league table, while bomb-happy Islamists threatened to transform Indonesia into Afghanistan East.

    SBY won a landslide in 2004 campaigning to rid of both terrorism and corruption. The terror part he has largely succeeded with. Abu Bakr Bashir’s Jemaah Islamiah movement and its imitators have been largely neutralised, many of their adherents turned. Radical madrassas have been shut down or neutered, in what is the most telling success of the SBY era.

    Corruption has proved trickier to tame. True, Indonesia no longer languishes in the bottom five of the TI table but position 142 of the 190 countries ranked hardly makes Indonesia Scandinavian in its regard for public office. Still, it’s better than it was. Public officials from across the islands are now getting their collars felt.

    Jakarta’s newspapers daily titillate with tearful confessions and fascinating detail as to how deep-seated corruption is; parliamentarians for sale, and the central bank too. The fact that it is being publicly aired is evidence Indonesians crave to be normal, to want civil society. Whether Mulyani goes or stays will go a long way to letting them know if that is in the cards.

    (c) Asia Sentinel

  • Mud Victims Spooked by Own Ghost Towns

    PROLONGED MAKESHIFT LIFE: For nearly a year, 80-year-old mudflow victim Muana has lived in a makeshift hut erected along the defunct Porong toll road in Sidoarjo, East Java, beset by searing heat and numbing cold alternately, and hoping for a better life in the near future. She has urged the government to come up with the best solution for mudflow victims from the affected villages located outside the official map of affected areas. (JP/Indra Harsaputra)
    PROLONGED MAKESHIFT LIFE: For nearly a year, 80-year-old mudflow victim Muana has lived in a makeshift hut erected along the defunct Porong toll road in Sidoarjo, East Java, beset by searing heat and numbing cold alternately, and hoping for a better life in the near future. She has urged the government to come up with the best solution for mudflow victims from the affected villages located outside the official map of affected areas. (JP/Indra Harsaputra)

    Hundreds of houses in three villages were inundated with mud in Sidoardjo in February, and thousands of people were displaced from their homes, forcing them to live in makeshift tents erected along an abandoned toll road.

    While the sturdier structures in the three villages — Besuki, Kedung Cangkring and Renokenongo — were left inundated with mud and are now homes to various animals, the wooden houses were merely turned into rubble.

    “Most residents no longer have the courage to enter the ghost-like houses. We have left them to serve as silent witnesses to the disaster that has devastated not only our assets but also our community and future,” 54-year-old Paimin of Besuki told The Jakarta Post here Saturday.

    Another resident, 80-year old Muana, said that for the past eight months her family had lived without possessions and without hope.

    “I rely on my two children and their three grandchildren who are now staying with me in this bamboo hut,” she said.

    Muana’s 40-year-old daughter Munifah and 35-year-old son Ismael and their families have been living in the four meter by six meter hut since the mudflow submerged their makeshift houses in Besuki.

    They have made their livings as street vendors at a nearby housing compound ever since Lapindo Brantas Inc., an energy company that operates the mining site in Porong district that triggered the devastation, stopped distributing humanitarian aid last May.

    “We were hopeless and desperate when our aging mother contracted diarrhea. We had to borrow some money from neighbors so we could take her to a doctor at the nearby public health center,” said Munifah, who looks far older than her eight years.

    She said many people, including her mother, had contracted diarrhea after consuming water from ground wells that had been contaminated by toxic mud.

    Ismael said the village’s residents had received nothing from the government or Lapindo despite promises of immediate compensation for mudflow victims made by BPLS, the government agency tasked with handling the disaster.

    “BPLS and the village head have frequently come here to make sure that the government will pay the compensation soon but so far we have been given empty promises,” he said.

    Many people claiming they are refugees, he said, have filed complaints with BPLS and the local administration. They attempted to stage a protest against Lapindo, he said, but the company’s middlemen thwarted the attempt.

    He said the damage to his house and farmland had been assessed by the local government, and that he and all of the other village residents had been informed of the amount of compensation they were due, but that they had never received it.

    “We are not beggars but we have been left without answers. The government should have paid the compensation 14 days after the deal (on compensation payment) was signed,” he said, adding that the deal was signed in early August.

    Besuki, Kedung Cangkring and Renokenongo are among nine villages that were devastated by the February mudflow.

    Four villages were destroyed by a mudflow that hit on May 29, 2006, creating a giant lake of mud.

    Some of the residents of the four villages received 20 percent of the compensation promised to them. They continue to demand the remaining 80 percent.

    Some of the 600 residents of Renokenongo village currently living in makeshift shelters inside Porong market said they were disappointed Lapindo had broken its promise to pay the compensation last month.

    “Lapindo committed to paying the compensation once it had finished assessing the residents’ damaged assets in mid September. Yet, they have given no reasons for why the payments have been suspended,” said Pitanto, coordinator of the Renokenongo mudflow victims association.

    Pitanto also called on non-governmental and religious organizations to help encourage Lapindo and the government to immediately pay the compensation to the mudflow victims.

    BPLS spokesman Zulkarnaen said the government would disburse Rp 160 billion immediately to pay 20 percent of the total compensation to the residents of the three villages located outside the disaster location.

    “The compensation will be paid immediately to 1,481 victims from the three villages,” he said, but declined to name a date for the payment.

    Indra Harsaputra, The Jakarta Post

    Sumber: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2008/10/20/mud-victims-spooked-own-ghost-towns.html

  • Victims Refuse to Sell Muddy Land to Lapindo

    Some 69 families in the East Java villages of Jatirejo, Siring and Renokenongo are standing their ground, refusing to sell their land as part of the compensation plan proposed by the energy company being held responsible for the mudflow disaster.

    “If we accept the proposal the company is offering, it will amount to turning our land into cash, but in principle that’s not what we want to do,” Ipung, a spokesperson for the villagers, told The Jakarta Post.

    Some 69 families in the East Java villages of Jatirejo, Siring and Renokenongo are standing their ground, refusing to sell their land as part of the compensation plan proposed by the energy company being held responsible for the mudflow disaster.

    “If we accept the proposal the company is offering, it will amount to turning our land into cash, but in principle that’s not what we want to do,” Ipung, a spokesperson for the villagers, told The Jakarta Post.

    Lapindo Brantas Ltd., a giant energy company belonging to the Bakrie family, has proposed compensation for the residents.

    “This land belonged to our ancestors and our ancestors entrusted it to us,” said Ipung, who was born in the village of Jatirejo.

    Jatirejo, Siring, and Renokenongo are three of seven villages affected by the Lapindo mudflow disaster which began when mud gushing from a mining site in Porong district, Sidoarjo regency, May 29, 2006.

    Initially, the four villages of West Siring, Jatirejo, Mindi, and Renokenongo were inundated. In February this year, three more villages, Besuki, Kedungcangkring and Pejarakan were likewise buried in hot mud that sprang out of new, adjacent leaks.

    In a matter of days, the Porong district villages, near the East Java capital of Surabaya, were wiped from the map. Since then, disaster victims have organized themselves into several forums to advocate for their rights.

    Ipung said his group of 69 families still refused to take any compensation offered by Lapindo.

    “They tried to first intimidate us then bribe us so we would take the compensation and sell our land.”

    He said further he was once visited by a stranger armed with a pistol and offered a bribe to stop encouraging other residents to decline Lapindo’s compensation offer. Despite his efforts, most disaster victims have accepted the initial compensation from the company, including some Jatirejo villagers.

    According to the two-phased offer, Lapindo paid out 20 percent of the full compensation in advance to all residents. Those with deeds were supposed to receive the remaining 80 percent in cash by June 2008; those without, should have received an offer of housing.

    However, Lapindo switched the second cash disbursement for titled victims with a new offer of existing housing in the Kahuripan Nirvana Village housing complex located in the Surabaya outskirts.

    Lapindo was supposed to pay the 80 percent in the form of land and housing only to people without land deeds.

    Some victims have rejected the offer because they feel living in a housing complex would disrupt their culture and traditions. “A housing complex doesn’t suit us because we used to live in the village far from the city and we depend on vast areas of land for our farming,” said Pitanto, a leader of the Renokenongo mudflow-victim group.

    The villagers have instead demanded Lapindo compensate them with land and housing of the same value that they lost, not with cash.

    “We ended up accepting the worst possible compensation scheme because of the pressure of trying to make ends meet,” Pitanto said.

    The compensation process is expected to be completed by the end of this year. Most of the mudflow victims hope either Lapindo or the government will pay the compensation soon so they can use it to buy land, rebuild their villages and start all over again.

    Faisal Maliki Baskoro, The Jakarta Post

    Sumber: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2008/10/13/victims-refuse-sell-muddy-land-lapindo.html

  • Mudflow Families Celebrate Idul Fitri in Makeshift Huts

    For Supardi, the recent Idul Fitri celebrations were vastly different to previous years as his village struggled to rebuild after a devastating mudflow struck in February this year.

    As neighborhood head of Besuki village, Supardi and his fellow villagers celebrated Idul Fitri in emergency tents and makeshift houses after their homes and farmland were destroyed in the disaster.

    For Supardi, the recent Idul Fitri celebrations were vastly different to previous years as his village struggled to rebuild after a devastating mudflow struck in February this year.

    As neighborhood head of Besuki village, Supardi and his fellow villagers celebrated Idul Fitri in emergency tents and makeshift houses after their homes and farmland were destroyed in the disaster.

    “We tried to celebrate Idul Fitri as we had in past years, but it’s not the same because we have been expelled from our own homes and deprived of our rights for fair compensation and humane treatment,” Supardi said.

    Despite the poor conditions, Supardi said he was still positive because the disaster had drawn the community together in survival throughout the economic hardship.

    Residents displayed their unity by agreeing to perform the Ied prayer at the damaged village mosque, and by greeting each other according to the Sillaturahmi Islamic family tradition.

    Sillaturahmi is a tradition practiced every Idul Fitri where Muslim families go from door to door visiting their relatives and neighbors, asking for forgiveness by kissing and shaking hands.

    “We used to take two to three days going on Sillaturahmi in our village, but this time it only took a couple of hours because we live right next to each other,” Supardi said.

    Tears were shed at the Sillaturahmi ritual as residents shook hands and comforted each other, asking for pardon.

    Mudflow and gas bubbles inundated Besuki and two other nearby villages, Pejarakan and Kedungcangkrin, earlier this year, rendering them uninhabitable.

    Despite the presidential decree for compensation payment issued in August, residents are yet to receive any funding or humanitarian aid from the government. The major energy company held responsible for the disaster, Lapindo Brantas Inc., is also yet to distribute any compensation.

    The disaster, which buried four villages and hundreds of hectares of farmland, was triggered by hot mud leaks from the company’s mining site since May 29, 2006.

    Following the February nightmare, which submerged hundreds of homes, many people have left their temporary shelters to build huts on their damaged farmland in the village after having difficulties adjusting to their new environment and making money to survive the economic hardship.

    “We have been living together for years, living separately in a new environment feels awkward,” Supardi added.

    Now, the 250 Besuki residents have been living together in makeshift houses along the damaged Porong toll road and planned to stay there until the government or Lapindo pay for the compensation.

    According to the 2008 presidential decree, the mudflow victims in Besuki, Pejarakan and Kedungcangkring villages are entitled to fair compensation from the state budget but so far they have received only a Rp 2.5 million in advance payment to allow them to rent a house for two years while waiting for their resettlement into nearby villages and the payment of the remaining 80 percent compensation.

    “We don’t know the location of the new settlement designated for us yet, but what really matters for all of us is to be together again in one village and just try to start all over again,” Supardi said.

    Faisal Maliki Baskoro,  The Jakarta Post, Sidoarjo

    Sumber: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2008/10/13/mudflow-families-celebrate-idul-fitri-makeshift-huts.html

  • Indonesia’s One-Man Wrecking Crew

    Friday, 10 October 2008, written by Our Correspondent

    The Jakarta Stock Exchange remains closed after Bakrie Group companies are suspended from trading amid allegations of irregularities Indonesia’s billionaire Chief Welfare Minister Aburizal Bakrie, whose companies are already being held responsible for the biggest man-made environmental disaster in Indonesian history, is now in trouble for playing a major role in wrecking the country’s stock market, which has been closed for three days.

    The Jakarta Stock Exchange remains closed after Bakrie Group companies are suspended from trading amid allegations of irregularities

    Indonesia’s billionaire Chief Welfare Minister Aburizal Bakrie, whose companies are already being held responsible for the biggest man-made environmental disaster in Indonesian history, is now in trouble for playing a major role in wrecking the country’s stock market, which has been closed for three days.

    Six companies controlled by the powerful Bakrie Group were suspended from trading Tuesday on the Indonesia Stock Exchange in the wake of wild gyrations in prices that drove the group’s shares down by 30 percent.

    The exchange has ordered a probe into trading of the shares, with traders and analysts openly saying the stocks had been manipulated to drive up their price. Lenders to the Bakrie Group, wary after being burnt the first time his empire collapsed after the 1997 Asian financial crisis, are believed to have sought his family companies’ stock as collateral. The stock comes with stringent conditions and bankers worry that some loan covenants may be triggered if the stock remains untradeable. The group has not disclosed what the conditions of group loans are.

    Given Bakrie’s political clout and the fact that his companies have routinely escaped scrutiny by government officials, it is questionable how far the investigation will go. However, the disastrous blowout of a Bakrie-controlled gas well two years ago and the environmental damage it did, plus other problems, may have made him less than welcome in the cabinet of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who has made reducing corruption a major goal of his administration. The country’s indefatigable Corruption Eradication Commission has been arresting politicians right and left.

    The exchange’s benchmark composite index plummeted more than 21 percent this week, the biggest three-day fall in 20 years as major foreign investors pulled back from emerging markets, and particularly those as dicey as Indonesia’s. The Jakarta Stock Exchange was Asia’s worst-performing market before exchange president Erry Firmansyah shut it Wednesday. There was hope that it would reopen on Friday, but Firmansyah told reporters it would remain closed to give investors a chance to “calm down before they make decisions.”

    While suspicion has focused on the Bakrie-owned PT Bumi Resources Tbk, the country’s largest coal miner, it has also shone a spotlight on the Jakarta Stock Exchange as well, which has often been likened to a gaming casino rather than a rational market, with rampant insider trading and traders taking control of blocks of stock in so-called “pump and dump” pyramid selling games between them to drive up the price and draw in retail investors. A classic game is to drive up the price of a stock by selling it between each other until enough unsuspecting investors have been drawn in, then to sell and get out, watching the price drop precipitately.

    PT Agis Tbk, a general trading and electronics company, is a case in point. In June of 2007, Agis was responsible for the collapse of the composite index when 20 brokerages defaulted on trades in the company’s shares worth Rp23 billion. Agis’s share price had risen from Rp300 to Rp4,000 in less than six months before plummeting.

    Similarly, PT Bumi Resources was the focus of hyperactive trading during the runup in commodity prices earlier this year.

    “Among these six companies under the Bakrie Group banner, Bumi Resources is the prima donna,” Sugianto, a market trader with BNI Securities, told local media. Sugianto noted that trading in Bumi Resources accounted for almost 30 percent of the movement in the index every month.

    Although in June soaring coal prices pushed Bumi up to make it the largest capitalized company on the exchange, its shares have plunged 75 percent since hitting a record high of Rp8,750 on June 10.

    Bayburs Alfaris, an independent market analyst, said trading in Bumi was dominated by so-called “market makers,” who are able to drive prices up or down. “It was the market makers who drove Bumi’s stock price on the exchange,” Alfaris said, calling the stock a “beautiful play” during its heyday.

    Bumi was trading at Rp950 on January 2 before it began its exponential, almost ten-fold rise. Apart from the uptrend in commodity prices, Alfaris said, the increase in Bumi’s stock price helped it succeed in its bid to acquire Australia-listed Herald Resources Ltd.

    Herald’s main asset is its 80 percent interest in the undeveloped Dairi lead and zinc mine, which is awaiting a permit before construction work can start. The Indonesian state-controlled nickel producer PT Aneka Tambang Tbk owns the other 20 percent.

    Both Alfaris and Sugianto said they are suspicious about the trading in Bumi stock movements, although they caution that it appeared to have been done within market rules.

    “What we see is that the market makers maintained the movement of prices within the range permitted by the market rules,” Alfaris said. “While it appeared to be real, in reality it was all artificial.”

    “Bakrie Group stocks have always been the target of speculators,” Sugianto said. “They are very risky for serious investors.” He added that Bumi’s stock would likely fall further once trading resumed. “Margin calls will put additional pressure on Bumi’s stock price,” he said.

    Alfaris noted persistent market reports that parent company PT Bakrie & Brothers had defaulted on recent stock-related debts, another factor pushing sentiment down. A briefing by Bakrie that had been planned for Thursday has been rescheduled to next week.

    The Bakrie family, one of Indonesia’s richest, has continued to escape regulatory scrutiny by government officials despite a litany of complaints. The biggest came in May of 2006, when a gas well being drilled near Surabaya by Lapindo Brantas, a subsidiary of the Bakrie family-owned Energi Mega Perseda, blew out into a mud volcano that so far has drowned more than 14,000 homes, 33 schools, 65 mosques, a major toll road and an orphanage and continues to produce more than 20 Olympic swimming pools of stinking mud every day. Lapindo so far has agreed to pay out Rp4 trillion rupiah in compensation to villagers who have lost their homes.

    Asia Sentinel reported on September 22 that mud and gas have continued erupting ever since, defying all efforts to stop it and inundating a vast area of Surabaya. Hundreds have been sent to hospitals with breathing difficulties. Scores of factories have heen closed, at least 90 hectares of paddy fields were ruined and fish farms have been destroyed.

    Nonetheless, Indonesia’s Environment Ministry in September gave the company a green citation for complying with environmental standards. The award prompted embarrassment from officials and was soundly denounced by environmentalists.

    Despite Lapindo’s claim of faultlessness, it is paying Rp4 trillion (US$437 million) in compensation to villagers who lost their homes to the mudflow. Most people seem to have received 20 percent of their payment but they are still waiting on the rest.

    (c) Asia Sentinel

  • Jakarta Post Editorial: The Burning Seat

    Finance Minister Sri Mulyani has been sitting in the hot seat for some time now, and now her seat has now gone from hot to burning since businesspeople and politicians with vested interests have been making attempts to unseat her. We earnestly hope she will survive this saga.

    The imbroglio, we suspect, is related to what has been going on in the financial market, especially to the Bakrie Group. Many believe Bakrie is now in a make-or-break situation as it struggles to meet huge obligations to its creditors who hold shares in its subsidiary companies as collateral.

    Now that the value of this collateral has dropped significantly, Bakrie is trying to sell off its assets to repay $1.2 billion worth of debts that will mature between the end of this year and early next year.

    As the situation worsens, the Bakrie Group, controlled by the family of Coordinating Minister for People’s Welfare Aburizal Bakrie, may make a desperate attempt to get President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to bail them out using either state money or funds from state companies.

    It seems that most cabinet ministers and even Vice President Jusuf Kalla have made no objections to such a move. But Finance Minister Sri Mulyani, who holds the key to the state coffers, differs and even resists a move that smacks of a raw deal.

    We are concerned whether Sri Mulyani will be able to maintain her strong stance in the face of mounting pressure from various quarters. Because of her persistent anti-graft reform drive at the ministry, she has established more enemies than anyone else in her position previously.

    Her reform of the customs office at Indonesia’s largest port, Tanjung Priok, has cost certain businesspeople dearly. Those who once took an easy route by bribing customs officials to get their goods out of the customs area quickly (often by smuggling or under-invoicing imports), now find it much tougher to slip through.

    Worse, several parties now claim that customs officials who were dissatisfied with Mulyani’s work have intentionally slowed their pace of work. This development has impacted honest businesspeople who must bear higher capital costs because of the slowed movement of their goods. So now both kinds of businesspeople have a reason to dislike her.

    Mulyani’s anti-graft reforms at the tax office have also taken their toll. One good example is the much-publicized zealous efforts of the tax office to uncover the suspected tax evasion of a palm oil company belonging to Raja Garuda Mas Group, controlled by powerful businessman Sukanto Tanoto.

    Mulyani has also engaged in confrontations with certain coal producers, asking the immigration office to impose travel bans on businesspeople with coal interests who owed the state unpaid royalties and taxes. One such coal company belongs to the Bakrie Group.

    But Mulyani had clashed with the Bakrie Group before this, when, through the Capital Market Supervisory Agency, she rejected a plan by Bakrie’s oil and gas entity, Energi Mega Persada, to spin-off Lapindo Brantas (which had created massive problems in Sidoarjo resulting from an uncontrolled mudflow that is believed to have resulted from Lapindo drilling activities there). This case was finally resolved, with Energi allowed to sell Lapindo to wash its hands of an uncertain future liability.

    And now, Mulyani is clashing with Bakrie again. This time, however the clash looks to be protracted, as Bakrie is in a do-or-die situation where it needs to attract buyers or get help from the state or it will face bankruptcy or hostile takeover. Mulyani has said if companies must go bust, then let them be. After all, it is their fault, and why should the government come to rescue them.

    Because of her persistence in protecting the state budget from abuse, Mulyani’s enemies have launched a covert operation to unseat her. In the public domain, concerted efforts have been made to discredit Mulyani — claiming she is “un-nationalistic” for her unwillingness to help out local indigenous businesspeople. Some of these people have even accused her of being a running dog for the International Monetary Fund, where she once served as an executive director.

    On the contrary, by acting firmly to clean up the customs and tax offices, by penalizing corrupt businesspeople and by acting firmly to defend the state budget from abuse, we can see Mulyani is in fact more nationalistic than those who have attempted to discredit her.

    The current political situation may present itself to President Yudhoyono as a big dilemma: whether to help his business friends, or to side with the impeccable and respected finance minister. But the choice is really clear.

    Thu, 10/23/2008 11:04 AM  |  Opinion | The Jakarta Post

    Sumber: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2008/10/23/editorial-the-burning-seat.html

  • Akhir Desa Renokenongo

    korbanlumpur.info – Bambang Yuli Usman (55 tahun) mengumpulkan barang-barang miliknya yang tersisa di tengah genangan air asin yang mulai masuk rumahnya di RT 07/02 Renokenongo. Selama ini dia bertahan di desa ini sebagai solidaritas bagi tetangga-tetangganya yang belum mendapat ganti rugi sepeserpun dari Lapindo.

    “Ini adalah hari terakhir saya di sini,” tuturnya dengan matanya yang sedih, kelopak matanya menghitam karena kurang bisa tidur.

    Meski masih banyak warga Renokenongo (baca: 400 keluarga) yang belum dibayar 20% harga aset mereka, sesuai peraturan presiden, namun Badan Penanggulangan Lumpur Lapindo (BPLS) memaksakan diri untuk membangun tanggul yang akan mengubur desa Renokenongo secara pelan-pelan dengan lumpur.

    BPLS yang selama ini berkoar-koar berusaha meminimalisir korban dalam prakteknya ternyata bertindak sebaliknya. Mereka tidak berusaha memperbaiki timur tanggul cincin yang jebol sejak Agustus lalu dan membiarkan desa Renokenongo sedikit demi sedikit menjadi lautan air asin yang berasal dari pusat luapan lumpur.

    Sejak luapan lumpur, dua tahun lebih lalu, warga Renokenongo menjadi tercerai-berai sebagian mengungsi di pengungsian pasar baru porong, sebagian mengontrak di tempat lain dan sebagian masih tinggal di desa mereka meski rumah mereka banyak yang doyong akibat tanahnya ambles.

    Warga yang mengungsi di pasar belum mendapatkan uang sepeserpun dari Lapindo atas pembelian tanah mereka begitupun kebanyakan warga yang masih menetap di desa.

    Saat mulai penanggulan mereka memprotes supaya pembayaran diselesaikan dulu sebelum penanggulan namun protes warga ini tidak digubris baik oleh BPLS atau Lapindo. Bahkan dua warga Renokenongo, yakni; Danu dan putranya Anang ditangkap polisi Sidoarjo karena aksi ini.

    “Hingga kini mereka belum dibebaskan,” tutur Khalik Widodo (34 tahun) warga RT 07/02 Renokenongo.

    Khaliq adalah salah seorang warga yang belum mendapatkan 20% dari harga tanah dan bangunannya.

    “Ada tiga aset (pekarangan dan bangunan), milik bapak dan kakak saya yang belum dibayar sama sekali,” tutur Widodo.

    Meski sudah ditanggul, sebenarnya, Khaliq masih ingin bertahan meneruskan usaha jual pulsa serta pengisian air isi ulang miliknya sembari menunggu uang tanahnya. Namun dia tak lagi bisa meneruskan usaha tersebut karena aliran listrik ke rumahnya sudah dicabut.

    “Listrik di Renokenongo mulai dicabut pagi ini,” tutur Widodo.

    Lengkaplah sudah teror Widodo dan warga Reno yang masih mendiami rumahnya; setelah tanggul jebol dibiarkan, kemudian banjir air asin pelan=pelan menutup desa, orang yang protes ditangkap dengan alasan yang tak jelas, lalu  listrik diputus. Tak ada pilihan buat mereka selain pindah dengan sangat terpaksa.

    Untuk terakhir kali Widodo meminta supaya rumah dan kamar-kamarnya yang masih ada supaya difoto.

    “Buat kenang-kenangan,” dia bilang. Tak jauh dari rumahnya ada sebuah papan putih bertuliskan tinta merah, berbunyi, “selamat tinggal desaku.”

  • Sekolah Khalid bin Walid Akhirnya Pindah

    korbanlumpur.info – Sampai Jumat (24/10) kondisi sekolah Khalid bin Walid kian tak berkutik. Banjir air asin dari pusat semburan lumpur Lapindo, yang dua hari sebelumnya menyebabkan sekolah ini terpaksa diliburkan, kian meninggi dan menutup keseluruan akses jalan ke Renokenongo dari arah timur dan bikin sekolah ini memperpanjang liburnya.

    “Senin baru bisa masuk,”  tutur Tri Ari Wilujeng, guru biologi Madrasah Aliyah (MA) Khalid bin Walid.

    Setelah luapan lumpur ini, dua tahun lalu, sekolah ini berjalan dengan tidak normal. Siswa-siswanya menjadi sulit dikontrol kedatangannya ke sekolah.

    “Hari ini anak ini yang datang besok orang lain. Saya jadi kesulitan mengingat siswa saya,” tutur Sudiono Akhmad  Rofiq, guru sosiologi MA dan juga korban lumpur Lapindo dari desa Glagaharum RT 04/01.

    Hal ini dimaklumi oleh Rofiq karena memang kebanyakan siswa dari keluarga para korban yang mengungsi ke berbagai tempat di Sidoarjo sampai Pasuruan dan ini menjadi kesulitan tersendiri bagi para siswa karena musti mengeluarkan biaya tambahan untuk datang ke sekolah.

    Rofiq tahu betul banyak korban yang kehilangan pekerjaan dan ganti rugi dari Lapindo juga tak kunjung jelas juntrungannya.

    Tak hanya itu, karena tiga kali kena banjir lumpur dan air asin, buku-buku pelajaran milik sekolah ini juga dititipkan ke beberapa rumah guru untuk pengamanan. Ini tentu saja menyulitkan proses belajar-mengajar siswa-siswa Khalid bin Walid dari TK sampai tingkat Aliyah yang jumlahnya mencapai 300 lebih siswa.

    Meski tiga kali kebanjiran, sejak luapan lumpur, sekolah ini tetap bertahan menempati sekolah mereka karena tak ada peringatan atau inisiatif baik dari pemerintah atau Lapindo untuk memindah sekolah ini. Alasannya, karena sekolah ini swasta.

    “Tak ada perintah untuk pindah. Yang disuruh pindah  hanya sekolah negeri,” tutur Rofiq.

    Peringatan untuk pindah tak juga datang hingga desa Renokenongo ditanggul, sekira seminggu lalu, dan karena tidak ada harapan lagi banjir air asin akan surut sebab tanggul di sebelah barat tanggul cincin pusat semburan lumpur yang jebol tidak diperbaiki dengan layak oleh Badan Penanggulangan Lumpur Sidoarjo (BPLS).

    Akhirnya pimpinan sekolah ini berinisiatif sendiri untuk pindah ke desa sebelah timur mereka; Glagaharum. Mereka mencari tempat sendiri tanpa bantuan dari pemerintah ataupun Lapindo.

    Tempat baru mereka adalah sebuah gudang bekas milik toko bangunan Sakinah kepunyaan Christina, istri mantan lurah Glagaharum. Toko bangunan ini bangkrut setelah luapan lumpur karena di Glagaharum tak ada lagi yang membangun rumah setelah luapan lumpur.

    “Sejak pagi kami mengangkut meja-kursi ke Glagaharum,” tutur Toni Budiawan, kepala Tata Usaha Madrasah Tsanawiyah (MTs) Khalid bin Walid, “Masih ada dua lemari buku yang tertinggal di dalam.”

    Tempat baru ini buruk sekali karena kotor dan berdebu, meja-kursi sekolah di tata berantakan tak ada sekat  masing-masing kelas. Sementara ruang guru ditempatkan dibekas ruang kecil bekas menyimpan semen.

    “Hanya itu yang bisa saya berikan,” tutur Christina. [mam]

  • Renokenongo Ditanggul, Sekolah Khalid bin Walid Diliburkan

    korbanlumpur.info – Pasca bencana lumpur Lapindo kondisi Madrasah Ibtidaiyyah (MI), Madrasah Tsanawiyah (MTs) dan Madrasah Aliyah (MA) Khalid bin Walid di Renokenongo Porong kian memprihatinkan; sudah bangunannya retak karena tanah yang ditempati ambles kini dibanjiri air asin pula.

    Selasa (21/10) banjir menutup akses jalan masuk sekolah menyebabkan ratusan siswa tiga sekolah ini tidak bisa masuk ke ruang kelas. Mereka bergerombol di sebuah warung tak jauh dari sana.

    “Kami tidak meliburkan cuma menyuruh mereka untuk belajar di rumah dua hari (ke depan),” tutur Sri Retno, kepala MTs Khalid bin Walid.

    Sejak tanggul cincin pusat semburan lumpur jebol Agustus lalu dan sengaja tak diperbaiki hingga kini sedikit demi sedikit Renokenongo menjadi lautan dan sekolah Khalid bin Walid sebagai sekolah satu-satunya yang masih bertahan juga kebanjiran.

    Selain sekolah milik Nahdlatul Ulama ini, di Renokenongo ada empat sekolah lainnya, yakni; Taman Kanak-kanak Dharma Wanita Sekolah Dasar Negeri I, II Renokenongo, dan SMP Negeri II Porong dan sekolah-sekolah ini sudah dipindah semua.

    “TK, SD dan SMP sudah pindah semua setelah ledakan pipa gas (pertamina; 22 November 2006). Tinggal Khalid bin Walid yang bertahan,” tutur Lilik Kaminah, warga Renokenongo yang mengungsi di Pasar Baru Porong-cum- guru TK Muhajirin.

    Menurut kepala MA Khalid bin Walid; Ali Mas’ad, banjir ini bukan yang pertama dialami sekolahnya, sebelumnya, dua kali sekolah ini kebanjiran lumpur, yakni pada Agustus 2006, kemudian setelah ledakan pipa gas pertamina. Meski repot sekali sekolah ini tetap menjalankan proses belajar mengajar.

    MI, MTs, dan MA ini menjadi sekolah alternatif bagi warga tidak mampu dari korban lumpur Lapindo karena sekolah ini membebaskan SPP buat para korban.

    Saat saya tanya apa duitnya dari Lapindo? Dengan tegas Mas’ad menjawab tidak. Lapindo tak memberi apapun pada sekolah ini selain Rp. 2.400.000 untuk biaya pindah-pindah kursi-meja pada saat luapan lumpur pasca ledakan pipa gas pertamina.

    “Duitnya dari Agniya (orang-orang kaya) yang menyumbang sekolah ini,” tutur Mas’ad.

    Sebenarnya banjir ini sudah mulai menggenangi sekolah Khalid bin Walid sejak bulan puasa lalu. Namun masih bisa dialirkan ke tempat yang lebih rendah. Meski terganggu dan khawatir kalau-kalau sekolahnya rubuh sewaktu-waktu namun proses belajar mengajar tetap di jalankan.

    “Kami terpaksa libur lebih awal saat puasa,” tutur salah seorang guru saat itu.

    Kalau kemarin air masih bisa dialirkan sekarang sudah tak ada harapan lagi untuk dialirkan, pasalnya, sejak Jum’at lalu desa Renokenongo mulai ditanggul. Penanggulan ini menuai protes dari warga karena sekitar 171 keluarga yang masih bertahan di rumah mereka karena belum mendapatkan pemabayaran 20 % dari tanah mereka. Haji Danu dan putranya Anang, warga Renokenongo, ditangkap karena aksi ini dan hingga hari ini belum dibebaskan meski tuntutannya tidak jelas.

    Menurut Mas’ad, saat ini MA Khalid bin Walid sedang menjalani tes tengah semester dan tes ini terpaksa dihentikan. “Jumat depan siswa-siswa kami suruh masuk lagi dan untuk sementara menempati masjid (tak jauh dari lokasi sekolah) karena ujian mesti diselesaikan,” jelas Mas’ad.

    Sri Retno merencanakan untuk memindahkan ruang sekolah ke desa sebelah timur Renokenongo dengan pertimbangan kebanyakan siswa sekolah ini berasal dari desa-desa sebelah timur. Rencana ini belum jelas karena meski terkena musibah mereka masih diribetkan dengan urusan perijinan dan tak tahu akan kapan pindahnya.

    “Kami masih mengurus perijinannya,” tutur Retno.[mam]

  • Kali Porong Penuh Lumpur, Penambang Pasir Kehilangan Pekerjaan

    korbanlumpur.info – Dulu Samian (40 tahun), warga Permisan Jabon, menjadi penambang pasir di kali Porong. Dia harus merelakan pekerjaannya hilang lantaran kali Porong kini dipenuhi lumpur hingga hampir rata dengan dua pinggirnya.

    Jam kerja Samian tak lazim yakni mulai jam 3 dini hari saat kali surut dan Samian bisa mengambil pasir dengan leluasa menggunakan perahu kecil. Tiap hari dia bisa mengumpulkan 12 perahu penuh pasir. Pekerjaannya selesai kalau jam satu siang karena mulai pasang, truk-truk pengusung pasir sudah menunggu hasil kerjanya.

    “Saya biasa dapat delapan puluh ribu per hari,” tutur Samian.

    Menurut catatan Final Draft United Nations Environment Programe yang dirilis Juni 2008: luapan lumpur Lapindo yang luapannya naik terus mulai dari 40 ribu-60 ribu meter kubik  per hari pada awal awal 2007 menjadi 80 ribu meter kubik tiap harinya pada Agustus 2007 dan terus meningkat hingga 150 ribu meter kubik perharinya dan menyebabkan 10.426 rumah dari dua belas desa di tiga kecamatan Sidoarjo tenggelam.

    Luas luapannya hingga 810 hektar dan menghilangkan pekerjaan 1873 karyawan dari 30 pabrik yang tak bisa beroperasi karena terendam lumpur. Karyawan ini agak beruntung karena tercatat resmi dan dapat ganti rugi selama enam bulan sesuai upah minimum daerah.

    Yang paling sial karena tak dapat ganti rugi adalah pemilik usaha rumahan macam, usaha dompet, tas, penambak, petani, buruh bangunan dan penambang pasir yang jumlahnya ribuan orang di tiga kecamatan yang terdampak lumpur.

    Orang-orang ini berusaha sendiri untuk melanjutkan hidupnya dengan mengojek, tukang parkir bahkan banyak yang jadi pengemis.

    Pemerintah Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) terkesan lambat dan tak tegas dalam menangani kasus ini. Meski sudah mengeluarkan peraturan presiden yang mengatur pertanggungjawaban Lapindo untuk mengurusi lumpur sekaligus korbannya. Namun SBY tak bisa berbuat apa-apa saat Lapindo mangkir dari peraturan itu.

    Banyak yang curiga ketidaktegasan ini disebabkan karena kedekatan hubungan antara SBY dengan Abu Rizal Bakrie, penguasa Bakrie and Brothers (induk Lapindo Brantas)-cum-orang terkaya se Indonesia versi Forbes Asia Desember 2007-cum-pemilik aset $US 5,4 milyar-cum-Menteri Koordinator Bidang Kesejahteraan Rakyat.

    Kecurigaan ini makin mengental setelah dua tahun lebih pemerintah tak juga menuntaskan kasus luapan lumpur Lapindo.

    Karena ketidaktegasan ini masyarakat yang kehilangan pekerjaan macam Samian terlantar. Kali Porong tempat dia bekerja sudah dipenuhi lumpur dan ditutup sekarang, tak ada lagi aktivitas penambangan pasir di sana. Samian dan kawan-kawannya dipaksa untuk mencari pekerjaan baru untuk melanjutkan hidupnya.

    Dia menjadi buruh bangunan serabutan kini. Sekarang ini dia lagi ada garapan di daerah Tuyono, Tanggulangin. Penghasilan Samian menurun separuhnya.

    “Sekarang 40 ribu per hari,” tutur Samian. Setelah pekerjaan ini selesai Samian tak tau musti bekerja kemana lagi.[re/mam]

  • Renokenongo Ditanggul: Warga Protes

    korbanlumpur.info  – Melihat truk hilir mudik mengusung tanah dan eskavator membikin dasar tanggul lalu memadatkannya warga Renokenongo hanya bisa aksi berteriak menuntut penanggulan dihentikan.

    “Warga iki kurang opo, warga kurang apa, kami disuruh cash and carry kami ikut, cash and ressetlement kami ikut, cash and relokasi kami ikut, tapi tidak direalisasikan. Sekarang tanah kami ditanggul, kami jangan dibodohi terus,” teriak Imron, warga Renokenongo RT 17/04, dihadapan ratusan polisi yang menghalau aksi.

    Sejak lumpur menenggelamkan desa Renokenongo, dua tahun lalu, warga Renokenongo menjadi tercerai berai; sebagian mengungsi di pasar Baru Porong, sebagian pindah ngontrak di tempat lain, dan sebagian masih tinggal di rumah mereka meski kondisinya membahayakan karena amblesan tanah. Aksi siang ini adalah aksi warga yang masih tinggal di desa dan sebagian besar mereka belum mendapatkan uang pembelian tanah mereka.

    “Kami belum mendapatkan pembayaran dua puluh persen,” tutur Samik (40 tahun). “Kalau ditanggul kami akan tinggal di mana?” tambahnya.

    Peremuan beranak 2 ini sudah mendapatkan uang kontrak untuk dua tahun memang dan uang itu ia gunakan untuk makan bersama suami dan anaknya karena tak punya pekerjaan lagi akibat sawahnya terendam lumpur.

    “Duit 5 juta dapat apa, Mas?” tutur Samik.

    Penanggulan terus  dilakukan di tengah desa Renokenongo tanpa memperdulikan tuntutan warga. Tepatnya di perbatasan dukuh Renokenongo dan dukuh Risen. Ratusan warga beraksi di jalan depan rumah Malik (RT 05/02 Renokenongo) dan ratusan polisi dari Polres Sidoarjo menghalau mereka tepat di pinggir jalan eskavator. Seorang polisi malah duduk di samping sopir eskavator, mereka abai dengan tuntutan warga.

    Di lapangan ada Bajuri Edy Cahyono, bagian lapangan BPLS, dan Suliono, pegawai Minarak Lapindo Jaya. Saat diminta untuk menghentikan penanggulan mereka tak bisa berbuat apa-apa.”Saya hanya pelaksana, atasan saya yang ambil keputusan. Saya sudah sms Pak Sunarso tapi belum dibalas,” tutur Bajuri.Suliono, lebih parah, hanya diam saja saat dicecar tuntutan supaya Lapindo membayar dulu baru menanggul.

    “Anda boleh bekerja tapi selesaikan dulu pembayaran dengan warga,” tuntut Gunawan (29 tahun), warga RT 07/02 Renokenongo.

    Meski emosi warga tak bisa berbuat apa-apa menanggapi jawaban Bajuri dan diamnya Suliono. Mereka lalu duduk-duduk di jalur penanggulan mereka kecewa dengan polisi yang tidak membela orang kecil, “sing jelas ora mbelo warga, Mas, yang jelas tidak membela warga, Mas?” tutur Anang Sutarno (35 tahun), warga RT 09/02 Renokenongo, “Aparat mboten saget Mbelani wong cilik, aparat tidak bisa membela orang kecil,” tegas Gunawan.[mam]

  • Belum Dilunasi, Warga Renokenongo Hadang Pembangunan Tanggul Baru

    korbanlumpur.info – Ratusan warga Desa Renokenongo menghadang upaya penanggulan yang dilakukan Badan Penanggulangan Lumpur Sidoarjo (BPLS), Jumat (9/10). Ini karena proses pembayaran tanah dan bangunan warga Desa Renokenongo berlarut-larut dan belum tuntas hingga kini. BPLS berencana membangun tanggul baru di area perbatasan Desa Renokenongo-Glagaharum.

    Alat-alat berat dan truk sirtu yang telah siap sedia melakukan penanggulan akhirnya berhenti. Menurut Juwito (58) warga RT 07/RW 02 Renokenongo, sejak pukul 08.00 WIB alat berat sudah terlihat di selatan Desa Renokenongo. Warga yang melihat alat-alat berat datang langsung membunyikan kentongan dan bunyi-bunyian untuk mengumpulkan warga dan menghentikan proses penanggulan.

    “Warga ini tidak mencari-cari masalah, kami cuma menuntut hak,” tutur Juwito.

    Sekitar 100 rumah masih berdiri dan berpenghuni di wilayah Desa Renokenongo. Mereka bertahan di situ karena memang belum mendapatkan pelunasan pembayaran gantirugi tanah mereka.

    “Bukan hanya kurang (pembayaran) 80 persen. (Uang muka) yang 20 persen saja masih ada yang belum dibayar,” jelas Juwito yang juga ketua BPD Renokenongo ini.

    Usaha penanggulan ini sendiri dijaga oleh setidaknya seratusan polisi tapi itu tidak menyurutkan niat warga untuk menghentikan pembuatan tanggul baru.

    Pihak BPLS dan PT Minarak Lapindo Jaya selaku juru bayar PT Lapindo Brantas Inc. yang berusaha membujuk warga juga tidak berhasil mengurangi tuntutan warga untuk bertahan di desanya sebelum proses pembayaran selesai.

    “Yang pasti tidak boleh nanggul sebelum (tanah dan bangunan) warga dibayar lunas,” tandas Juwito lagi.

    Untuk selanjutnya, Juwito menyatakan warga akan terus berjaga-jaga dan akan tetap menolak proses penanggulan di wilayah desa Renokenongo sampai ganti rugi warga terbayar. [re]

  • Pipa Baru Akan Dibikin, Pengungsi Tol Dipaksa Membongkar Rumahnya

    korbanlumpur.info – Kerangka rumah bambu lebar empat meter baru saja didirikan di timur ruas tol Porong-Gempol. Menjelang magrib empat pekerja bayaran Mahmudah (42 tahun) sibuk meratakan tanah yang lebih rendah di pinggir tol. Mereka musti bekerja keras pasalnya waktu mereka tak panjang.

    “Cuma diberi waktu tiga hari untuk pindah,” tutur Mahmudah warga RT 03/04 desa Besuki.

    Kesibukan ini dimulai pada Selasa (7/10) saat Bajuri Edy Cahyono, kepala pokja perlindungan sosial Badan Penanggulangan Lumpur Sidoarjo (BPLS), memerintahkan pengungsi tol yang berada di sebelah barat tol untuk membongkar gubuk pengungsian mereka. Pasalnya, ruas tol sebelah barat akan difungsikan dan pengungsi disatukan di tol sebelah timur. Rumahnya dibikin berhadapan yang ditengah tol menghadap timur dan yang dipinggir menghadap barat.

    Pengumumannya Bajuri pada para pengungsi dari 5 RT Besuki tidak tuntas. Warga RT satu dikumpulkan dan diberitahu supaya pindah sementara warga RT empat diberi gambar rencana perpindahan. Warga mesti mengumpulkan informasi sendiri dengan kepanikan.

    “Selain itu akan dibangun pipa saluran lumpur baru,” tutur Mahmudah.

    BPLS hanya mengeluarkan perintah tanpa memenuhi ongkosnya. Mahmudah mesti mengongkosi sendiri perpindahan ini dia menyewa empat orang yang masing-masing dibayar 40 ribu rupiah tiap harinya. Dia tak bisa mengandalkan suaminya karena suaminya tak bisa kerja keras karena serangan asma.

    Selain itu, sejak pengumuman itu dia tak bisa membuka warungnya karena sibuk pindahan.

    Senja mulai menggelap dan rumahnya yang baru masih berupa kerangka dengan lantai yang belum rata. Mahmudah bersama dua putrinya tak tahu musti tidur dimana malam ini. [mam]

  • Normalisasi Sungai, BPLS Diberi Waktu Dua Minggu

    SIDOARJO, KOMPAS – Bupati Sidoarjo Win Hendrarso memberi batas waktu dua minggu kepada Badan Penanggulangan Lumpur di Sidoarjo atau BPLS Jawa Timur untuk merampungkan normalisasi Sungai Porong. Bupati mengusulkan pembuatan celah di tengah-tengah endapan sungai dan penambahan mesin pengeruk lumpur Lapindo di Sungai Porong.

    Win menjelaskan, endapan lumpur Lapindo di Sungai Porong semakin parah dan sangat mengkhawatirkan. Apalagi, sekarang sudah mendekati musim hujan. Beberapa titik tanggul sungai bukan mustahil jebol karena tidak mampu menampung aliran air Sungai Porong yang tidak lancar akibat endapan lumpur.

    ”Saya berharap BPLS dapat segera merampungkan normalisasi Sungai Porong itu. Jika tidak, dikhawatirkan terjadi luapan air sungai di musim hujan nanti,” kata Win, Rabu (8/10) di Sidoarjo, Jatim.

    Win juga mengimbau agar mesin pengeruk lumpur di Sungai Porong ditambah. Lima mesin pengeruk yang beroperasi saat ini masih kurang seiring dengan semakin dekatnya musim hujan. ”BPLS sepatutnya menambah jumlah mesin pengeruk lumpur menjadi 12 unit,” ujarnya.

    Senin lalu Win meninjau endapan lumpur Lapindo Brantas di Sungai Porong yang berada di Desa Bulang, Kecamatan Prambon, Sidoarjo. Lokasi tersebut dinilai paling rawan saat musim hujan nanti. Tahun lalu, selisih permukaan air sungai dengan tanggul sekitar 15 sentimeter. Tahun ini, diprediksi terjadi luapan air sungai saat musim hujan dan hal itu bakal merendam ratusan hektar sawah di desa tersebut.

    Masih berlanjut

    Tentang pembuangan lumpur Lapindo ke Sungai Porong, hingga kemarin hal itu masih berlanjut. Dalam waktu dekat bahkan akan ada penambahan pipa pembuangan lumpur ke sungai itu. Rencananya, pipa tersebut dipasang dari titik tanggul nomor 42 menuju Sungai Porong melewati Desa Besuki, Kecamatan Jabon, Sidoarjo.

    Menurut anggota staf Humas BPLS, Akhmad Kusairi, selain ada penambahan pipa pembuangan lumpur, akan ada penambahan tujuh mesin pemompa lumpur sehingga total mesin jadi 19 unit.

    Pipa yang dipasang, katanya, berdiameter 60 sentimeter dengan debit 0,6 meter kubik lumpur per detik. ”Penambahan pipa pembuangan lumpur ini bertujuan mengurangi debit pembuangan lumpur ke kolam penampungan lumpur yang saat ini nyaris penuh. Selain itu, untuk mencegah timbulnya wilayah terdampak baru sebagai akibat jebolnya tanggul jika tak mampu menampung lumpur,” kata Kusairi.

    Masih terkait lumpur Lapindo, kemarin 211 keluarga pengungsi korban lumpur di Dusun Besuk, Desa Besuki, tepatnya di sisi barat Jalan Tol Porong-Gempol, berbenah untuk pindah. Pasalnya, tempat pengungsian yang selama ini mereka tempati akan dilalui pipa pembuangan lumpur menuju Sungai Porong. (APO)

    © Kompas

  • Kali Porong Tercemar, Produksi Tambak Permisan Menurun Tajam

    tambakkorbanlumpur.info – Pembuangan lumpur ke Kali Porong tidak hanya mengakibatkan pendangkalan. Tambak-tambak yang berada di sekeliling sungai juga terkena dampaknya. Muhammad Erik (23), warga Desa Permisan, Kecamatan Jabon, menuturkan penghasilan tambaknya menurun tajam.

    Seperti sebagian pemuda Desa Permisan lainnya, Erik lebih menggeluti tambak ketimbang pekerjaan lain. Maklum, luas tambak mencapai 90% dari total luas desa dan bertambak menjadi tumpuan hidup warga. Kalau Sidoarjo punya ikon udang dan bandeng, warga Permisan bisa berbangga menjadi salah satu penyumbangnya.

    Erik dan ayahnya Muhammad Kisom (48 tahun) menggarap tambak keluarga mereka seluas tiga hektar. Biasanya mereka memelihara bandeng dengan cara tradisional. Permisan memang cocok untuk tambak karena airnya menyediakan ganggang yang cukup untuk pakan bandeng di tambak mereka. Pakan tambahannya paling banter rumput dan tak perlu biaya banyak untuk mendapatkannya.

    Modal yang paling besar yang mereka keluarkan adalah untuk pembelian nener (bibit bandeng). Untuk tambak mereka biasanya mereka isi 30 rean (satu rean: 5000 ikan), dengan harga dua juta rupiah.

    Bandeng-bandeng ini bisa besar dengan memakan ganggang tanpa menggunakan pakan buatan pabrik dan obat-obatan kimia. “Tidak perlu (obat-obatan), ganggang seharusnya mencukupi untuk kebutuhan pakan bandeng,” kata Erik.

    Setelah empat bulan Erik bisa memanen bandeng-bandengnya. Hasilnya rata-rata satu ton. Biasanya, kalau musim hujan hasilnya lebih baik. Harganya berkisar antara lima belas hingga delapan puluh ribu rupiah per kilogram.

    Pengalaman itu terjadi sebelum adanya bencana lumpur Lapindo, setelah lumpur meluap dan menenggelamkan desa tetangga mereka, Renokenongo. Lumpur seperti mimpi buruk bagi Erik dan petambak-petambak lainnya. Situasinya memburuk, hal ini semakin parah setelah lumpur dialirkan ke laut melalui sungai Porong. Air sungai yang digunakan untuk memenuhi kebutuhan tambak mulai berubah.

    “Airnya kehijau-hijauan dan baunya jadi banger, menyengat,” jelas Erik.

    Dampak langsungnya kontan dirasakan Erik dan petambak-petambak lainnya, bandeng-bandengnya jadi mudah mati dan yang masih hidup pertumbuhannya lambat. Akibatnya, waktu panennya semakin panjang. “Dulu kita bisa panen tiga kali dalam setahun, sekarang kalau bisa dua kali saja sudah bagus,” tambahnya.

    Belum lagi bobot panennya juga menurun drastis. Sebelum ada lumpur mereka bisa memanen 1 ton kini mereka hanya mampu memanen kurang dari separuhnya.

    Ini belum lagi pasar yang takut membeli bandeng dan udang yang diproduksi dari tambak-tambak dekat lokasi aliran lumpur. Yang paling takut adalah konsumen luar. Menurut situs Walhi, di Eropa yang biasanya memesan 3 kontainer udang dari Sidoarjo perbulannya kini membatalkan pesanan mereka. Konsumen Jepang juga mulai was-was dengan udang impor dari Sidoarjo. [re/mam]

  • Lapindo Refugees Pray at Mudflow Site

    TempoInteractive, Jakarta – Hundreds of Lapindo mudflow refugees held Idul Fitri prayer at the site of the mudlow in Sidoarjo, East Java on Wednesday. The refugees picked one site for their prayer in Ketapang Keres village cancelling the two previous locations within the mud flooded area prepared the day before.

    Hundreds of Lapindo mudflow refugees held Idul Fitri prayer at the site of the mudlow in Sidoarjo, East Java on Wednesday. The refugees picked one site for their prayer in Ketapang Keres village cancelling the two previous locations within the mud flooded area prepared the day before.

    A legislator Ario Widjanarko told reporters after the prayer that the house will monitor the compensation for the remaining mudflow refugees who have not receive the pay off. A member of the Indonesian Human Rights Commission also joined the prayer at the mudlake area.

    Refugees held an annual visit to the grave of their relatives, a tradition which follows Ramadan and Idul Fitri in some places or groups in Indonesia, and the areas where their properties were.

    The mudflow in Porong subregency spurred in 2006 at one of the exploration site of the Lapindo Brantas mining company in the region.

    More than 10.000 residence were forced to leave their land as the mud form a 2,5 square miles lake which drowned everything in the area. The mudflow is still continuing.

    Rohman Taufiq

    © Tempo Interactive

  • Lapindo Victims Cry For Cash Aid

    SIDOARJO TEARS: Mariati, 43, (right) a victim of the Lapindo mudflow in Porong, Sidoarjo, cries after conducting Ied prayers next to a hot mud retention dam on Wednesday. Mariati said her father died from deep depression that resulted from the disaster which had devastated their house and farmland. (JP/Indra Harsaputra)

    The Jakarta Post, Sidoarjo – Mariati, 43, (right) a victim of the Lapindo mudflow in Porong, Sidoarjo, cries after conducting Ied prayers next to a hot mud retention dam on Wednesday. Mariati said her father died from deep depression that resulted from the disaster which had devastated their house and farmland.

    Thousands of mudflow victims in Sidoarjo, East Java, said their Ied prayer for Idul Fitri by the hot mud that covers their assets and culture, their hopes of soon receiving more cash compensation fading fast.

    All the attendees, wearing Islamic attire, said their Ied prayer while facing the vast pool of mud — still spewing out hot liquid and odorous gases — under which their houses, land and dead relatives are buried, never to be seen again.

    This was the third time the mudflow victims performed their Ied prayer on the raised round dikes since the mud first began to flow from the mining site of energy company Lapindo Brantas Ltd on May 29, 2006.

    “Right from the beginning, Lapindo has done nothing, by either thought or donation, to help us with a house of worship. Even worse, the mudflow has submerged a mosque built by residents of the four devastated villages,” Muhayatin, 38, a former resident of the submerged village of Renokenongo, told The Jakarta Post after the prayer on Wednesday.

    “All we have — the social community and the culture built over many generations — has been submerged below the drying mud.”

    She said they had decided to perform the Ied prayer at the disaster site not only to honor their emotional connection to their lost community and dead relatives, but also as a reminder they had not received the remaining 80 percent compensation that should have been paid last month.

    She admitted she had received Rp 42 million (US$4500) in compensation — 20 percent of the total — for her home and land. But that was two years ago, she said, and she had no more money to pay the rent, support her family and finance her four children’s education.

    “We are praying here not to celebrate our victory over the monthlong fast, but to recall our lost community and our two years of pain in exile,” she said.

    “We are now strangers in our new environment after living in poverty for two years with no certainty about the payment of the remaining 80 percent compensation.”

    The community that had been lost was one major asset that no amount of money could compensate for, she added.

    Muhayatin, formerly a worker in a factory also destroyed by the mud, has no job now. Her husband has to work as a parking attendant near the mud, with a monthly income of about Rp 300,000 per month.

    “This sum is not enough to meet our daily basic needs,” she said.

    Another local, Mariati, who looked sad as she recalled the disaster, said she was thinking of her father Muntari, who died aged 75 in a deep depression over his house and other assets that were buried by the mudflow.

    “I have no more tears. Lapindo and the government should not make me cry again over the suspended payment of the remaining compensation,” she said.

    Lapindo spokeswoman Yuniwati Teryana said her company would pay the remaining compensation as soon as possible.

    “We are appealing to mudflow victims to be patient. We will pay the compensation as stipulated by the 2007 presidential regulation,” she said.

    Lapindo has so far paid Rp 660 billion for the 20 percent compensation, Rp 719.3 billion for a resettlement program and Rp 169 billion for cash-and-carry settlement. An estimated Rp 5.6 trillion will be need to pay the remaining 80 percent compensation.

    Indra Harsaputra and ID Nugroho

    Sumber: The Jakarta Post

  • Bisnis Para Korban Lumpur Lapindo

    korbanlumpur.info  – Terik sekali siang itu, Sunaji (35 tahun) mengumpulkan bata-bata yang masih utuh diantara pepuingan rumahnya di RT 13 RW 03 Renokenongo. Anak pertamanya Arif Baliyah (kelas enam Sekolah Dasar) bermain-main tak jauh darinya.

    Tanah di desanya ambles sedalam satu meter lebih setelah dua tahun lebih isi bumi keluar akibat kegagalan pengeboran gas yang dilakukan PT Lapindo Brantas Inc. Akibatnya, sedikit demi sedikit rumah-rumah di Renokenongo runtuh.

    Untuk rumahnya Sunaji berpacu dengan lumpur, pilihannya sederhana; menunggu rumahnya dirobohkan lumpur atau dia robohkan duluan. Kalau dirobohkan lumpur jelas dia tak dapat apa-apa, kalau dia yang merobohkan dia masih bisa memanfaatkan sisa genteng, batu-batu, kusen-kusen pintu, besi-besi bekas yang semuanya laku dijual.

    Meski sederhana pilihannya, Sunaji, lama memikirkan hal ini. Baru setelah dia kepepet karena dua tahun tak juga dapat uang pengganti rumah dan tanahnya dari Lapindo. Dia lalu merobohkan rumahnya.

    Untuk kesekian kalinya Lapindo berjanji untuk membayar uang muka 20 persen sesuai dengan peraturan presiden. Janji terakhir Lapindo hendak membayar tanggal 26 bulan depan namun karena beberapa kali diingkari Sunaji tak berharap banyak.

    “Mboten tepat, bolan-baleni, semayan terus, tidak tepat, diulang-ulang, mengulur waktu terus,” tutur Sunaji dan matanya mulai berkaca-kaca. “Kudu nangis koyo ngene, ingin menangis kayak gini,” tutur Sunaji.

    Pemerintah baik di Sidoarjo, Surabaya ataupun di Jakarta tahu Lapindo yang sering ingkar janji namun mereka tak ambil pusing dengan keluhan warga-warga macam Sunaji.

    Menjelang lebaran dan biaya hidup yang meningkat Sunaji menurunkan derajat pekerjaannya. Dulu dia tukang bangunan sekarang dia tukang merubuhkan bangunan. Dari bangunan yang dia rubuhkan dia menjual batu, bata dan besi bekas untuk dijual.

    “Bata (bekas) 150.000 Rupiah /seribu, besi 120 rupiah/kilo,” jelas Sunaji.

    Sutrisno alias Bagong warga Renokenongo yang lain juga mengalami nasib yang sama, yakni; menjadi pengepul bata bekas.

    Luapan lumpur punya siksaan tersendiri bagi Sutrisno. Tiga hari setelah lumpur meluap, tepatnya tanggal 2 Juni 2006, Gamtina, istrinya melahirkan keduanya di pengunsian di balai desa Renokenongo. Untuk mengenang duka ini, Sutrisno menamakan anaknya Alfindo Muhammad Khoiru Zakki.

    Rumah Sutrisno sudah remuk diterjang lumpur saat itu dan istrinya nggak bisa bekerja. Usaha kerajinan perak rumahannya juga ikut hilang bersama rumahnya yang roboh. Lapindo memberi ganti gaji untuk karyawan perusahan besar namun usaha rumahan macam yang dipunyai Sutrisno tak dapat ganti apapun.

    Setelah lama menganggur dia lalu memutuskan mengumpulkan bata, batu, besi bekas dan menjualnya.

    Desa Renokenongo terletak dekat jalan tol Porong-Gempol dan sekarang mati. Desa-desa korban lumpur Lapindo lainnya yang dekat dengan akses jalan raya Surabaya-Malang macam Siring, Jati rejo, Kedungbendo juga menyisakan duka tersendiri bagi warga yang juga tak segera mendapatkan ganti rugi.

    Karena dekat jalan raya banyak orang yang penasaran dengan lumpur Lapindo mengunjugi lumpur dari pintu tiga desa itu dan yang paling rame di Siring dan Jatirejo. Ini jadi mata pencaharian tersendiri bagi mereka. Mereka yang kehilangan pekerjaan lalu menawarkan jasa ojek untuk mengantarkan pengunjung mengelilingi tanggul lumpur.

    Penghasilan mereka maksimal 50 ribu Rupiah perhari. Ini bukan mengada-ada dan pengen dikasihani. Mereka benar-benar kehilangan pekerjaan dan kalau ada pekerjaan lain mereka juga tak ingin menjadi ojek tanggul.

    Ahmad Novik, warga Jatirejo, salah satunya, dia dulu pernah menjadi ojek tanggul tapi setelah mendapat pekerjaan di toko kaca dia tak lagi mengojek.

    “Sedikit-sedikit punya penghasilan, jadi nggak enak sama yang tidak punya pekerjaan sama sekali,” tutur Novik. Jumlah pengojek ini lebih dari 200 di lokasi pintu Siring saja.

    Warga Renokenongo di pengungsian Pasar Baru Porong, yang belum mendapat ganti rugi, juga punya cara sendiri untuk melanjutkan hidup dan memenuhi kebutuhan yang meningkat menjelang lebaran. Ada yang berjualan rujak macam Sapi’iyah (45 tahun) di lokasi pengungsian.

    “Ya, cukuplah untuk nambah biaya beli bumbu, sak piro seh koyone bakul rujak. berapa sih penghasilan pedagang rujak?” tutur Rustam suami Mak Pik, sapaan akrab Sapi’iyah. “Paling dapat seratus ribu, itu juga dua hari” terang Mak Pik. Untuk 100 ribu rupiah yang dia dapatkan Mak Pik mengeluarkan 75 ribu rupiah untuk modal.

    “Kalau saya punya sedikit, itu juga terus diambil sedikit-sedikit, ada juga beberapa barang yang sudah dijual, tapi yang lain lebih kasihan ada yang sampai harus hutang buat hidup sehari-hari” pungkas Rustam sambil menghisap rokoknya dalam-dalam.

    Warga Besuki yang mengungsi di Tol Porong-Gempol punya kesulitan hidup sendiri. Warga Besuki terkena dampak lumpur belakangan, tepatnya sejak Febuari 2008, setelah tanggul titik 40 km jebol. Menurut peraturan presiden 48/2008, tanah, bangunan, dan sawah mereka akan dibeli oleh negara dengan uang APBN.

    Namun hingga kini realisasi kosong mlompong.

    Warga Besuki yang tak hanya kehilangan rumah dan sawah mereka tapi juga pekerjaan. Salah satunya Mashudi, usaha rokok yang dimilikinya gulung tikar akibat lumpur. Perusahaannya bernama HD Bersaudara Jaya dan memiliki 25 karyawan.

    “Kebanyakan warga besuk,” tutur Mashudi.

    Marsudi memindahkan usahanya di tempat lain namun tak selancar ditempat sebelumnya di desa Besuki yang terkena lumpur. Akibatnya, dia terpaksa mengurangi pekerja untuk menyelamatkan usahanya.

    Yang terkena dampak paling pahit adalah karyawan-karyawan yang dipecat ini. Mereka mengatasi kesulitan mereka sendiri dengan mengemis di sepanjang jalan tol atau jadi tukang parkir.

    Namun kegiatan meminta-minta ini dilarang oleh fihak kepolisian Sidoarjo. “Tidak boleh minta-minta,” tutur Andi Suyatno, pemuda Besuki berusia 20 tahun, “Polres datang ke sini, mungkin mereka malu,” lanjutnya. [mam/re]

  • Pipa Petrokimia Meledak, Warga Permisan Protes

    korbanlumpur.info – Sabtu (09/27) pukul 04.00 WIB dini hari, warga Desa Permisan, Kecamatan Jabon, dikejutkan sebuah ledakan keras. Ledakan tersebut membuat warga panik. Suara ledakan semacam itu mengingatkan warga pada ledakan pipa gas Pertamina pada 22 November 2006, yang menyebabkan sedikitnya 14 orang tewas, dan tanggul penahan lumpur jebol. Warga Permisan kian heboh begitu menyadari sumber ledakan berasal dari pipa yang dipasang oleh PT Petrokimia.

    M. Basri, Ketua RT 06 / RW 02, menyatakan ledakan itu terdengar hingga ujung Desa Permisan yang bisa mencapai jarak 3 kilometer. “Kencang sekali ledakannya. Sampai semua warga datang ke sini. Warga ini masih trauma dengan lumpur. Eh, sekarang ada ledakan begini.”

    Pemasangan pipa ini sendiri juga diwarnai pro dan kontra. Warga merasa sosialisasi yang didapatkan kurang memadai. Mereka resah dengan keberadaan pipa tersebut. Apalagi belum ada jaminan keamanan yang didapat dari proyek pemasangan pipa itu. “Belum ada sosialisasi apa-apa tentang kegiatan hari ini,” sambung Basri.

    Ketika mendatangi lokasi ledakan, warga menyaksikan pipa yang meledak itu mengeluarkan semburan air dan asap pekat. Warga langsung berusaha mendapatkan keterangan dan juga pertanggungjawaban pihak Petrokimia. Para pekerja yang ada di tempat kejadian hanya memberi keterangan, pipa sedang dalam proses pembersihan. Tidak ada penjelasan lebih lanjut.

    Warga langsung meminta para pekerja menghentikan proses pembersihan pipa tersebut dan memanggil pihak Petrokimia yang berwenang guna memberi penjelasan dan pertanggungjawaban. Seratusan lebih warga akhirnya menutup wilayah pengerjaan yang baru saja meledak itu. “Kami akan tutup tempat ini sampai ada kejelasan dari pihak Petrokimia,” tandas Basri.

    Pada pukul 12.00 WIB, warga Desa Permisan dipertemukan dengan pihak Petrokimia. Bertempat di Balai Desa Permisan, pihak Petrokimia yang diwakili Suaji dan pelaksana proyek PT Lagawico yang diwakili Oyek, dengan dimediasi Kepala Desa Suwarno Ichsan dan Kapolsek jabon AKP Satuji, menemui warga.

    Dalam pertemuan itu, perwakilan PT Lagawico menyatakan meminta maaf atas kejadian ledakan tersebut. “Atas nama perusahaan kami mohon maaf. Ledakan itu terjadi karena tekanan yang diberikan untuk proses pembersihan pipa tersumbat kotoran. Kami jamin itu tidak berbahaya.”

    Perwakilan Petrokimia menyatakan hal senada. Proses pembersihan pipa memang bisa menghasilkan ledakan, kata Suaji. Namun Suaji juga mengakui kesalahan karena ledakan itu terjadi waktu dinihari, sehingga bunyi ledakannya sangat mengejutkan warga.

    Tidak puas dengan jawaban tersebut, warga yang didominasi ibu-ibu mulai meneriaki perwakilan perusahaan dan merangsek maju, tapi sama sekali tidak ada aksi kekerasan. Iwan, salah satu perwakilan warga menuntut agar pihak perusahaan menghargai kondisi trauma warga karena ledakan yang terjadi. Apalagi wilayah desa Permisan tidak jauh dari lokasi semburan Lapindo. Perusahaan mestinya mengkaji dengan seksama dan mendalam sebelum bertindak.

    ”Ini baru pembersihan kotoran pihak perusahaan sudah ceroboh. Bagaimana nanti kalau sudah dilewati gas? Ini soal keselamatan jiwa. Tolong itu diperhatikan!” tegas Iwan. Pernyataan ini langsung disambut teriakan kesetujuan warga. Warga mempertanyakan, kenapa harus terjadi ledakan pada waktu subuh.

    Penjelasan saja tidak cukup. Warga juga menuntut ada jaminan keamanan dalam pelaksanaan proyek pemasangan pipa. Selain itu, harus juga kompensasi atas masalah ledakan pipa sebesar 400 ribu rupiah per kepala.

    Pihak Petrokimia tidak bisa memberi jawaban atas tuntutan ini dan hanya berjanji untuk mendatangkan perwakilan yang lebih punya wewenang untuk itu. Pertemuan lanjutan itu direncanakan dilaksanakan Senin (29/09) pukul 13.00.

    Karena belum ada hasil yang memuaskan, warga menyatakan akan menyita aset Petrokimia dan Lagawico yang ada di desa Permisan sampai tercapai kesepakatan tentang kompensasi warga dan jaminan keselamatan. Setelah pertemuan, warga bubar dan kembali ke lokasi ledakan. Mereka lalu menyelubungi peralatan yang ada di sana dengan kain putih bertuliskan: “DISITA WARGA, HARGA PATEN”. [re]