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  • Lapindo mud wall falls, residents’ sorrows spiral

    Lapindo mud wall falls, residents’ sorrows spiral

    The Jakarta Post, Sidoarjo – The embankment of the Lapindo mud retaining pool in Sidoarjo, East Java burst on Wednesday evening because of high rainfall in the area, forcing residents, most of whom have not received compensation, to take shelter.

    “The burst embankment will be rebuilt 5 meters high. However, residents often blockaded the project, so the embankment, which is still only 3.5 meters high, collapsed and caused water to engulf residents’ homes and flow into the river,” Sidoarjo Mudflow Mitigation Agency (BPLS) spokesman Dwinanto Prasetyo said on Thursday.

    Dwinanto said the government had provided a shelter for affected residents at the Gempolsari village hall, which could accommodate around 100 people, or 20 families, from the village.

    “We have set up a kitchen and provided blankets, clothing and other supplies at the shelter. However, residents prefer to remain in their swamped homes,” he said.

    He added the BPLS had operated two pumps to channel mud to the main retaining pool, from where two dredges would dump the mud into the Porong River.

    One of the residents, Sri Asih, 41, said her family refused to stay at the shelter provided by the local administration, since staying at home was far more comfortable.

    “Each heavy rain, we are always wary of the condition of the mud embankment, because it has collapsed before and water mixed with mud engulfed my home and damaged the furniture,” Sri told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.

    “We prefer moving our belongings, such as furniture, to the shelter at the village hall. If the water level rise further, we will obviously evacuate to the village hall,” she added.

    Sri hoped the government would soon fulfill its promises to pay compensation for her house and land, which were included on the map of areas affected by the Lapindo hot mudflow disaster.

    The government earlier announced it would pay compensation of Rp 781.7 billion (US$60.2 million).

    Many criticized the government’s decision over the compensation as it is actually the responsibility of PT Lapindo Brantas, a company controlled by the family of Aburuzal Bakrie, who is also chairman of the Golkar Party.

    PT Lapindo partly owns PT Minarak Lapindo Jaya (MLJ), which conducted gas exploration activities in the affected area leading to a blowout at one of Lapindo’s natural gas wells in 2006.

    Lapindo has persistently denied its exploration activity was the cause of the mud flow, instead blaming an earthquake in Yogyakarta, hundreds of kilometers to the west.

    Another victim, Ahmadi, 54, expressed hope President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo would not break his promise to immediately resolve the issue.

    “We are actually tired of the promises. If the government is still concerned with the fate of the hot mudflow victims, the payment process should not have been complicated,” said Ahmadi.

    Commenting on the planned compensation, Dwinanto Prasetyo said that although the government had provided the bailout funds, it must still wait for the completion of auditing by the Development Finance Comptroller (BPKP) before they could be disbursed.

    Meanwhile, East Java Governor Soekarwo said the disbursement of the funds for mudflow victims should go through several stages.

    Indra Harsaputra

    Sumber: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/03/20/lapindo-mud-wall-falls-residents-sorrows-spiral.html

  • Lapindo must pay losses of victims: VP

    Vice President Jusuf Kalla affirmed on Wednesday that although the government planned to buy the assets of PT Minarak Lapindo Jaya, the company should still pay compensation to the victims of the mudflow.

    “The government will buy the assets, not pay the compensation. It [the compensation] is still the responsibility of Lapindo because it is a civil case,” Kalla said on the sidelines of a ceremony to commemorate International Human Rights Day.

    Earlier this year, the Constitutional Court issued a ruling ordering the government to force Lapindo to complete the payment of compensation to the victims of the disaster.

    The company recently claimed that it still needed to pay around Rp 781 billion (US$63.26 million) of a required Rp 3.8 trillion in compensation to more than 4,000 victims who lived in the affected area.

    Earlier this week, Public Works and Public Housing Minister Basuki Hadimuljono revealed the government’s plan to buy the assets of the company worth Rp 781 billion so that it could pay the long overdue compensation. (***)

    Sumber: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/12/11/lapindo-must-pay-losses-victims-vp.html

  • Harwati: The woman ojek driver of Porong

    Harwati: The woman ojek driver of Porong

    As the mudflow expands to more villages and lands in Sidoarjo, East Java, residents in the Porong subdistrict are doing whatever it takes to survive another day.

    Most residents who were once farmers and factory workers are now working as motorcycle taxi drivers (ojek). While most of them are men, at least one woman has been forced to take the job in one of the world’s most dangerous disaster settings.

    JP/Hans David Tampubolon (more…)

  • State Firms Teaming Up to Help Out The Bakries

    A number of state and private companies are exploring the possibility of forming a consortium to purchase a stake in the Bakrie family’s most valuable company and the world’s largest exporter of thermal coal, PT
    Bumi Resources.

    State miners PT Tambang Batubara Bukit Asam (PTBA), PT Aneka Tambang (Antam) and PT Timah are in serious talks to seek a way of acquiring some 35 percent of the family’s Bumi stake, estimated at Rp 14 trillion (US$1.42 billion).

    Antam corporate secretary Bimo Budi Satriyo told The Jakarta Post Thursday some of the state firms involved were still studying the plan, and no progress had been reached thus far.

    “This is not going to be an easy decision. We want to make sure the purchase will benefit the companies. We also need to seek sources of funding,” he said.

    When asked about the exact time for the arrangement, Bimo said it depended on PTBA, which was the most active in trying to secure the stake as it bids to add its coal reserves into the firm’s portfolio.

    PTBA executives could not be reached for comment.

    State enterprises minister Soyfan Djalil said the deal would be based on a business-to-business agreement, and the government would not interfere, other than by approving the deal.

    “The state firms need to team up with the private sector to acquire the stake because the cost will be huge. This is a strategic decision for the companies to take. We will not interfere,” he said.

    The powerful Bakrie family, headed by none other than Coordinating Minister for the People’s Welfare Aburizal Bakrie, is being forced to sell assets to help settle financial obligations to a number of creditors.

    The family’s flagship PT Bakrie & Brothers, the nation’s largest publicly listed investment company, borrowed $1.43 billion in short-term loans between April and September from, among others, Oddickson Finance, JPMorgan, and India’s ICICI Bank for refinancing, funding investment and working capital.

    Shares in Bakrie units were put up as collateral, including in Bumi, plantation firm PT Bakrie Sumatra Plantation and energy firm PT Energy Mega Persada, whose subsidiary Lapindo Brantas sparked the massive mudflow disaster in Sidoarjo, East Java, in 2006.

    But the plunge in the value of the shares following the global financial downturn has sharply slashed the collateral value, forcing Bakrie to either pump in fresh capital or face the risk of losing control of the pledged shares.

    On Oct. 12, Bakrie & Brothers offered investors shares in its units to help raise some $1.2 billion to repay its debts.

    Bakrie announced late Thursday it had completed the first phase of the offering.

    Avenue Luxembourg SARL has taken an additional 15 percent stake worth $46 million in PT Bakrieland Development, and Longines Offshore Co. Ltd., through the Royal Bank of Scotland, has purchased a 5.6 percent stake worth $10 million in PT Bakrie Sumatra Plantation.

    Bakrie also announced that negotiations with a domestic consortium interested in buying PT Bakrie Telecom were still underway, as well as a discussion with a number of local and foreign strategic buyers for Bumi.

    Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) president director Erry Firmansyah said three Bakrie companies would be allowed to resume trading on Friday, as they were expected to submit a complete disclosure of the ongoing stake offerings.

    “We need to know how the restructuring process is being settled and who the buyers are. We will not lift the suspension until there is a clear disclosure,” he said, refusing to name the firms set to resume trading.

    Besides its prominent role at the helm of the country’s biggest business empire, the Bakrie family is also politically powerful, having helped finance President Susilo Bambang’s campaign in the 2004 presidential campaign. (iwp)

    Ika Krismantari, The Jakarta Post

    Sumber: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2008/10/17/state-firms-teaming-help-out-bakries.html

  • Govt Mulls Helping Out Bakrie to Repay Favor

    The Bakrie family, headed by welfare minister Aburizal Bakrie, is unlikely to go bust any time soon, as the government ponders allowing state firms to buy stakes in the clan’s companies to help avoid a possible debt default.

    A failure by the family to secure immediate funding means it could risk losing the ownership of its crown jewel companies.

    State enterprises minister Sofyan Djalil said the government could allow state miners PT Tambang Batubara Bukit Asam (PTBA) and PT Aneka Tambang (Antam) to acquire stakes in Bakrie unit PT Bumi Resources, the nation’s biggest coal producer.

    “If they (PTBA and Antam) have the money to buy the shares and the price is good, we will let them,” Sofyan said after a meeting at the Presidential Palace on Wednesday.

    However, Sofyan, who served as President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s campaign manager during the 2004 presidential election, denied reports the go-ahead to buy Bakrie shares was aimed at helping the group’s companies from being taken over entirely by other investors.

    On Oct. 12, Bakrie’s flagship PT Bakrie & Brothers, the country’s largest publicly listed company, announced the offering of shares in its units, including a 10 percent stake in publicly listed Bumi.

    The company claims the offering is aimed at helping raise some US$1.2 billion to pay all outstanding debts, some of which are not due for the next two years.

    While Bakrie remains deliberately vague about the reason for the early payment, there are widespread reports the company is in dire need of cash to help prevent shares of its firms pledged as collateral to creditors from losing their value as a result of the global financial meltdown led by the credit crisis in the United States.

    Bakrie & Brothers borrowed $1.43 billion in short-term loans between April and September from, among others, Oddickson Finance, JPMorgan, and India’s ICICI Bank for refinancing, funding investment and working capital.

    Shares in Bakrie units were put up as collateral, including in Bumi, plantation firm PT Bakrie Sumatra Plantation and energy firm PT Energy Mega Persada, whose subsidiary Lapindo Brantas sparked the massive mudflow disaster in Sidoarjo, East Java, in 2006.

    The value of the shares pledged was initially estimated at $6 billion, before plunging to $1.35 billion on Oct. 6, with creditors demanding Bakrie top up the covenant to assure the stake value remained intact, or risk being seized.

    With Bakrie refusing to disclose its debt arrangements, the Indonesia Stock Exchange is still suspending trading in the shares of six Bakrie companies, blamed by Finance Minister Sri Mulyani for exacerbating the recent havoc in the stock market.

    Help from the government will mean a lot for the Bakrie family, noting Aburizal’s role as a key financier of the Yudhoyono presidential campaign in 2004.

    Aburizal also played a major role in putting Vice President Jusuf Kalla, also chairman of the Golkar Party, on the national radar back in the 1990s when Kalla was a relatively unknown businessman from eastern Indonesia.

    While Kalla worked his way up the ladder, Aburizal was already an iconic native tycoon, locally termed pengusaha pribumi.

    If Sofyan Djalil does finally move to save the Bakrie business empire, it will be the third time the family has been rescued by the government; the first was a financial bailout during the late-1997 Asian financial crisis, and the second was over the Lapindo debacle.

    In response to questions over the troubles plaguing the empire, Aburizal merely said everything was actually in order.

    “Everything is secure,” he said before a meeting with Yudhoyono.

    Desy Nurhayati,  The Jakarta Post

    Sumber: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2008/10/16/govt-mulls-helping-out-bakrie-repay-favor.html

  • 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

  • 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

  • Lapindo Silt Feared to Trigger Major Flooding

    Mudflow victims on Wednesday protested the dumping of mud into the Porong River for a second time, saying the buildup of sediment had produced a pungent stench and increased the risk of rainy season flooding along the East Java river.

    SILTING DANGER: Mud siphoned from Lapindo gas mining site hardens and clogs the Porong River in East Java on Wednesday. Local residents have protested the dumping over fears that the four-meter-thick silt will cause the major river to burst its banks in the rainy season.

    The mud mass has reached between two and five meters from the top of the river, visibly spanning 1 kilometer from its point of entry near the defunct Gempol Toll road bridge in Besuki, Jabon district.

    The mud has even reached as far as Pejarakan village, 18 km downstream of the dumping site.

    “People protested the dumping because the sediment has reached a dangerous level. The river water cannot flow and could burst the banks to engulf the residents’ houses,” Kupang village head Sudjarwo said.

    He said villagers had asked the National Sidoarjo Mudflow Mitigation Team (BPLS) to dredge the sediment ahead of seasonal rains to avoid flooding in the area.

    He said if the BPLS refused to remove the clogged mud, the 15 villages would possibly see floods in the rainy season.

    The 15 affected villages are Kedungcangkring, Pejarakan, Dukuhsari, Besuki, Keboguyang, Permisan, Jemirahan, Pangreh, Trompo Asri, Balongtani, Kupang, Kedungrejo, Semambung, Kalisogo and Kedungpandan, all in Jabon district.

    Experts and environmental groups, including the Indonesian Forum for the Environment, have heavily criticized the dumping, saying it could have severe environmental repercussions.

    BPLS spokesman Achmad Zulkarnain claimed the mitigation team had cleared a channel in the river using four floating excavators to increase the water’s flow.

    “We are also concentrating on repairing the main banks which collapsed due to Monday and Tuesday’s rallies. We hope residents do not block the work as it’s for the common interest,” Zulkarnain said.

    Hundreds of mudflow victims shut down a reconstruction site at the Porong mudflow area Monday, demanding mining company Lapindo Brantas Inc. pay the remaining 80 percent compensation owed them as ordered by a presidential instruction.

    Protesters grabbed tools from construction workers, prevented others from operating cranes working the main mudflow banks and stopped supply trucks from entering the site.

    A presidential Instruction No. 14/2007, issued one year after the erupting mud began to submerse villages on May 29, 2006, orders Lapindo to pay the remaining compensation owed residents one month before the end of a two-year house leasing arrangement ends.

    The company, partly owned by the family of Coordinating Minister for People’s Welfare Aburizal Bakrie, has paid out 20 percent of the required compensation to allow mudflow victims to rent houses.

    Indra Harsaputra, The Jakarta Post

    Sumber: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2008/08/28/lapindo-silt-feared-trigger-major-flooding.html

  • Mudflow Threatens Renokenongo Residents

    The remaining residents of Renokenongo village, partly devastated by the mudflow two years ago, were knocking down their homes and salvaging their belongings as hot mud and water began inundating the village after a section of the giant encircling dike collapsed recently.

    Around 300 families stayed on in the submerging village because they had yet to receive full compensation either from mining corporation PT Lapindo Brantas or from the government.

    They did receive 20 percent of the compensation due them from Lapindo, but the remaining 80 percent has not been paid despite the expired deadline the government set in a 2007 presidential instruction addressing the disaster.

    Resident Buang Sucipto said they could do nothing to salvage their houses as the mudflow slowly and surely displaced them from their homes.

    “The land and the houses are undocumented but they are ours. We deserve fair compensation. Lapindo should also pay for the hardship. The disaster has robbed the villagers of their social well-being,” he said here Wednesday.

    Minarak Lapindo Jaya, a unit of Lapindo, has offered resettlement instead of cash compensation for families whose assets were undocumented.

    Acting head of Renokenongo village Subakri urged the Sidoarjo Mudflow Handling Agency (BPLS) to immediately repair the failing dike because, apart from the mudflow inundating their homes, its noxiousness is disturbing the locals.

    “We have never given up. We have to receive what is our right although the disaster has caused so much suffering and violated our right to live peacefully and humanely,” Subakri said.

    Separately, BPLS spokesperson Akhmad Zulkarnain said the failing dike near the main hot mud outpouring was due to fragile soil conditions. He said several cranes had been deployed to dredge mud from the Porong river to strengthen the collapsing dike.

    “It may look like we aren’t doing anything, but we actually have done a great deal to repair the collapsing retaining wall. We need more time to tackle the problem,” he said.

    In a separate development, 600 Renokenongo families who have been living in makeshift dwellings at the Porong market building have negotiated an agreement with Minarak Lapindo Jaya regarding their assets damaged by the mudflow.

    Pitanto, coordinator for the Renokenongo disaster victim group, said the victims have received Minarak’s offer for a 20 percent payment up front and resettlement to end the more than two years of displacement.

    “Minarak is still examining the ownership documents for the houses and land the victims owned,” Pitanto said.

    So far, he said, 147 of the 475 families whose assets were damaged have been examined. The review is expected to be completed in a few weeks.

    “All recipients will sign the agreement at the same time,” he said, adding victims accepted Lapindo’s offer after the government had guaranteed the deal.

    The victims have rejected Lapindo’s proposed compensation scheme because the presidential decree did no spell out any sanctions if the mining company were to fail to meet the compensation payment deadline.

    “If the deal is signed, Minarak will pay 20 percent of the compensation for the damaged houses. The remaining 80 percent will be paid within one year,” he said.

    “All the victims will be resettled to a nearby housing compound within a year and they will receive the deeds for their new homes,” he added.

    Ridwan Max Sijabat, The Jakarta Post

    Sumber: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2008/09/19/mudflow-threatens-renokenongo-residents.html

  • NGOs slam govt over mudflow

    Nongovernmental organizations on Thursday threw their support behind mudflow victims from Sidoarjo, East Java, by urging the government to compensate them before the post-Ramadan holiday of Idul Fitri at the latest.

    As many as 24 Jakarta-based NGOs, grouped under the Coalition of Justice for Lapindo Mudflow Victims, criticized the government for “neglecting” the fate of those displaced by the sludge that has devastated the area since May 2006.

    Some 25 representatives of the victims met with the coalition at the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) headquarters in Jakarta to seek the NGOs’ backing for their demands.

    “We ask President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to take stern measures to resolve the fate of Sidoarjo mudflow victims,” coalition coordinator Usman Hamid told the meeting.

    “The President must also be brave and ask all relevant parties, including his minister responsible for this matter, to complete payment of compensation before Idul Fitri.”

    The representatives, from 10 villages in Sidoarjo, arrived in Jakarta on Friday to push for a clear response over compensation payments, which have yet to be completed two years after the disaster struck.

    During their stay in Jakarta, they met with Public Works Minister Djoko Kirmanto and representatives from the Social Services Ministry and the National Land Agency.

    The representatives also met with politicians and legislators from several parties, including the National Awakening Party (PKB), the Indonesian Democratic Party for Struggle (PDI-P) and the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS).

    “The Democratic Party and the Golkar Party rejected our request for separate meetings,” said Sep Muhammad, one of the representatives.

    The mudflow victims will return to Sidoarjo on Friday after the President turned down their appeal for a dialog.

    © Jakarta Post

  • Lapindo mudflow threatens Japanese investment

    The prolonged mudflow disaster has threatened East Java’s chances of attracting foreign investment, particularly from Japan, a local official says.

    The issue has become a major problem, discussed at a meeting of the Japan Club in Surabaya last week, chairman of the East Java Investment Board (BPM) Djoni Irianto told The Jakarta Post here Tuesday.

    A number of Japanese investors had expressed interest in the province, but decided to hold back until they receive a satisfactory explanation to at least three of their four questions regarding the disaster, he added.

    “We were given until Friday to respond to their questions,” Djoni said.

    The three questions concern the relocation of a section of the Surabaya-Gempol toll road, land subsidence on the Porong artery road and the possible overflow of Porong River, into which the mud has flown, he added.

    A forth question concerned the possible threat of avian flu, especially given outbreaks across Indonesia over the past four years. A leak that began on June 29, 2006 at Lapindo Brantas Inc.’s mining site became a mudflow disaster that has thus far buried at least four villages, displacing some 13,000 villagers.

    The mudflow has also damaged Porong highway, a railway line, and the Gempol toll road, causing soil subsidence at the disaster site.

    Many Japanese investors in Pasuruan have had to spend more on production costs, particularly to transport products and raw materials as a result of the damaged road, Japan Club chairman Hajime Matsuda sat at the meeting.

    “That has made it difficult to compete with companies in Sidoarjo and Gresik, two other industrial zones in the province,” Djoni quoted Hajime as saying.

    Around 80 Japanese investors actively involved in the new Pasuruan industrial zone expressed their commitment to retain workers despite the overburdening transportation problem, Djoni added.

    “We are proud of the investors’ commitment because many have repatriated their experts and senior staff instead of dismissing low-income workers, to cope with the additional transportation costs,” he said.

    The congested Porong artery and toll roads are the only links connecting Pasuruan with the port and the provincial capital, he added.

    Japanese investors want the industrial zone to provide an integrated service center, including for tax and excise examinations and for investment permits, Djoni said.

    With such a center, they could begin operations relatively quickly, despite having to pay extra.

    “That is why BPM sought a deadline from the government on the completion of the toll road relocation, the handling of bird flu and other issues that could make foreign investors reluctant to invest in the province,” Djoni said.

    BPM established an investment clinic last month to provide accurate information on whatever foreign investors need to know to invest in the province, he added.

    Djoni was confident more foreign investors will be attracted to the province, which he described as an excellent alternative investment destination, after Jakarta and Riau.

    In actuality, East Java is not trying to compete with those areas, but with Malaysia and Thailand, especially because the province’s infrastructure and regulatory environment are considered business-friendly to foreign investors, with the government working hard to eliminate barriers and costs, he added.

    The province has continued developing its potential in the provision of raw materials for mining, agribusiness and trading, a new sector that has attracted many Chinese investors, Djoni said.

    “Entering their second semester this year, Chinese investors have been taking the lead in the trading sector with 60 percent of their investments, worth US$54.2 million,” he added.

    The US$29.5 million in Japanese investment comes fourth, after Singapore’s $214 million and South Korea’s $40.3 million, he said.

    For the past eight months, the provincial government has issued investment permits for 45 foreign investors, in addition to expanding permits for 19 others in Gresik, Sidoarjo, Pamekasan, Malang and Tuban.

    Wahyoe Boediwardhana, The Jakarta Post, Surabaya

  • Mudflow victims urge govt to complete payment

    Victims of the Sidoarjo mudflow disaster urged the government to speed up compensation payments to them, following a new agreement between them and government representatives last week.

    On Tuesday, the victims’ lawyer, Paring Waluyo Utomo, said they were demanding concrete actions to realize the agreement, despite government assurances that the disbursement would be expedited.

    Some 25 representatives from 10 villages in Sidoarjo, East Java, came to Jakarta on Friday to seek certainty about the compensation, which has yet to be completed two years after the disaster struck.

    The representatives are staying at the National Commission of Human Rights (Komnas HAM) headquarters in Menteng, Central Jakarta.

    On Friday, they met with Public Works Minister Djoko Kirmanto and representatives from the Social Services Ministry, National Land Agency, PT Lapindo Brantas and PT Minarak Lapindo Jaya, in which the parties drew up a new agreement.

    One of the main points in the agreement obliges Lapindo to immediately complete the payment of 20 percent of the required compensation to the victims, whose lands were engulfed by the mudflow.

    It also stipulated the remaining 80 percent should be paid before the end of a two-year house leasing arrangement.

    “The victims are not satisfied with the promises in the agreement. They want it to be truly realized. Many victims have not received the 20 percent installment, let alone the 80 percent,” Paring said after a press conference at Komnas HAM headquarters.

    “We are seeking more support to force the government and Lapindo to finalize this, including from Komnas HAM and the House of Representatives.” He said the victims no longer wanted to deal with PT Lapindo Brantas and PT Minarak Lapindo Jaya and would leave the government to deal with them.

    “We can’t force Lapindo (to pay), so we will leave it to the government, which has the power,” he said. He said the victims would monitor the implementation of the agreement at the site.

    “We will sue if they fail to comply with it,” Paring said.

    The agreement also stipulates the government will provide a clean water facility and build drainage for villagers whose lands were not included in the map of affected zones.

    Paring said the villagers also demanded the government immediately issue a revised 2007 presidential instruction that includes all victims in the map, thus entitling them to compensation.

    Mahmuda, a victim from Renokenongo village, said the representatives would stay in Jakarta until they had secured the government’s promise to undertake its responsibility toward them.

    She also said they wished to meet with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to demand their rights be upheld.

    “We don’t know how long we will stay here, but we really expect to meet the President. He is our only hope because he is the one who issued the policy,” she said.

    “We want to know how much attention he pays in ensuring our rights are upheld.”

    Desy Nurhayati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

  • Mudflow submerges Renokenongo

    SIDOARJO: Renokenongo, one of the four villages flooded by Lapindo Brantas’ mudflow in May, 2006, was inundated by a mudflow from the overflowing giant pool in Porong, Sidoarjo, threatening hundreds of victims who were still holding out in the village and have yet to receive compensation either from the mining company or the government.

    The Sidoarjo Mudflow Handling Agency (BPLS) called on Lapindo to pay compensation to the Renokenongo residents so that they can move to safe areas in the regency.

    BPLS spokesman Achmad Zulkarnain said the overflowing pool was caused by the subsidence of soil in the disaster location and the possible solution was to build an outer embankment to prevent the mudflow from destroying the remaining houses in the village.

    Andi Darussalam Tabusalla, vice president of PT Minarak Lapindo Jaya, a unit of Lapindo, called on villagers to remain patient because his company was committed to paying compensation to the victims for their damaged assets.

    “It’s our social responsibility to pay the compensation for the victims,” he said. —JP

  • A disastrous award?

    Environmental NGOs, including the Mining Advocacy Network (Jatam), strongly protested last week the results of a Ministry of Environment audit on 516 companies, since this included an environmental award for PT Lapindo Brantas, allegedly responsible for an environmental disaster.

    Activists doubted the audit’s transparency and objectiveness. NGOs protested some audit results and awards, especially those involving companies thought to have a poor record on environmental damage, local community relations and human rights.

    State Minister for the Environment Rachmat Witoelar openly questioned the auditing team — which he himself selected — about the validity of published rankings, “as some big companies which have come under public scrutiny were awarded high marks.”

    The ministry also has a program to present environmental awards for individuals (Kalpataru) and for cities (Adipura). The awards for cities have also often been controversial.

    The NGOs have reason to protest. The inclusion in the award list of gas exploration company PT Lapindo Brantas, which allegedly caused the mud disaster in Sidoarjo, East Java, is very questionable. It is hard for the general public, especially the mudflow victims, to accept that the government gives an environmental award to this company.

    The check and balance role of environmental NGOs deserves praise, since the environment is one of our critical problems, but one which receives relatively little attention from government. No matter the shortcomings of the ministry in auditing these companies, the audit is important as a means to encourage state-owned and private companies to improve environmental performance.

    Companies are facing more pressure to contain pollution and environmental damage, to adopt environmental targets and go green. Local communities are becoming more courageous and knowledgeable on the environment. Investors and trading partners from advanced countries are more demanding on environmental requirements. Overseas companies are under pressure to be environmentally friendly to follow legislation, maintain their markets, keep good community relations and access bank credits.

    On Wednesday, the ministry announced the results of its audit on 516 companies for the 2006-2007 period. These companies voluntarily took part in an environmental rating program, popularly known as Proper. The program classified companies into gold, green, blue, blue minus, red, red minus and black categories. They were judged according to achievements in controlling air and water pollution and in fulfilling environmental impact analyses (Amdal). Corporate social responsibility (CSR) program performance was also included.

    There was only one winner in the red category, which went to Bandung-based geothermal firm Magna Nusantara Ltd. The company is praised for its energy-saving efforts. The green category was won by 46 companies, including PT Unilever Indonesia, PT Riau Andalan Pulp and Paper Mill, PT Newmont Nusa Tenggara, PT Indah Kiat Pulp and Paper and PT Astra Daihatsu Motor.

    The blue category was won by 180 companies. There are big names in the list, including PT LG Electronics Indonesia, PT Indorama Synthetics, Bandung and Purwakarta and pharmaceutical company PT Otsuka Indonesia. Meanwhile 43 companies were categorized as being in the worst polluter group.

    Indonesia has one of the worst environmental records in the world, especially given its poor forestry management. Amid worsening global warming indicators companies are eager to go green either to boost earnings or to win prestige. Many companies have no choice but to produce environmentally friendly products, to meet the demands of increasingly aware buyers.

    The ‘Proper’ audit program deserves our support, although since it started in 2003 it remains a voluntary scheme. The government needs to provide incentives, including fiscal rewards to encourage more companies to go green. There should also be sanctions against companies which damage our environment.

    The award to PT Lapindo Brantas is a disastrous decision. Perhaps only a few people, including the auditing team members and the company, believe this award is deserved.

    The Jakarta Post