T

he media reported about the Kutai Kartanegara Bridge collapse, which according to police was caused by negligence. What does this mean, Sir? It is so easy for the authorities to come up with this pathetic word, it certainly shows their ignorance.

The Golden Gate Bridge is 2.7 kilometers long and was opened in May 1937, meaning it is 74 years old now. It is still being used and still in excellent condition.

The Ampera Bridge in Palembang spanning the Musi river was built during the Sukarno era and completed in 1965, possibly built by Russian architects/contractors, hence it is still standing and being used 36 years later.

The Kutai Kartanegara Bridge is only 700 meters long and was built and completed by PT Hutama Karya and opened in 2001. It existed a mere 10 years and it has already collapsed!

While the search in the Mahakam River for victims of the bridge collapse continues, a team of experts from the Bandung Institute of Technology led by the police are working essentially 24 hours a day to try and piece together the reasons for the collapse and to find genuine evidence and valid proof that caused this calamity.

The public is adamant to know the following: PT Hutama Karya won the tender and built the bridge, but were they professionally capable of doing the job? Were first-class building materials used and was there a quality controller on hand to check out viability of the work? Who ratified the plans and the blueprints?

It is of course noble to search for the missing victims, as family members want closure, but it is more important to investigate the real cause of the collapse. Since this country is rife with corruption, it is certainly not too difficult to guess what transpired behind closed doors before the tender was awarded to the winners.

Pay-offs to provincial government officials, the use of unworthy building materials, questionable steel cables and irresponsibility by all parties concerned need to be examined in detail and reported. Former regent Syaukani was prosecuted for corruption, and this bridge was built under his tenure. Now his daughter Rita Widyasari is the regent, but nevertheless the public needs viable answers.

The public wants to know what happened to their tax money; they want heads to roll starting with government officials, authorities in charge at the time and/or the irresponsible contractors. They all should face prosecution and should be held responsible for their criminal acts. The pride of Kutai Kartanegara is gone. This is a slap in the face of the East Kalimantan provincial government, especially the governor.

I am from East Kalimantan and I was present at the celebration marking the end of the holy fasting month in the Bimantara building in Jakarta a few months ago. In his speech, the governor proudly outlined future development plans and recent achievements of East Kalimantan under his tenure. My question is what are you going to do now, Mr. governor?

I hope you are not going to sit back waiting for others to solve the collapse. We certainly hope you will be able to explain to your citizens why Kutai’s pride collapsed and henceforth will bring those responsible to justice.

Lynna van der Zee-Oehmke
Bogor, West Java