KPK investigates state losses in Surabaya

Eny Wulandari ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Thu, 04/02/2009 3:11 PM  |  National

The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has formed a special team to work with Surabaya administration, East Java, to investigate potential state losses worth trillions of rupiah from the conversion of state assets to private property.

The team plans to examine a 1967 regional regulation used as legal grounds for the conversions, which have been deemed contradictory to a 2006 government regulation, KPK deputy chairman M. Jasin said Thursday.

The privatized assets included public parks, swimming pools and buildings, and had were partly managed by private company PT YKP. The facilities, Jasin said, had become commercial infrastructure even though the administration had originally designated them as public property.

"We will demand Surabaya administration not extend land usage permits (IPT) or revoke permits for PT YKP pending these investigations," Jasin said at a press conference.

Another KPK chairman, Haryono Umar, said investigators would examine the state's ownership of thousands of hectares of land in nine areas across the city.

Also present at the press conference, Surabaya Mayor Bambang DH said the administration had several times attempted to reclaim assets, including by converting 14 gas stations into public parks.

"But we have not been able to secure assets in the forms of public swimming pools and sports buildings, which are now owned by private companies," Bambang said.

The administration was also working on clarifying the status of land which school buildings occupy, he said. (dre)

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