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Ahok abides by court’s verdict on reclamation
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Fishermen of Muara Angke hold a theatrical rally on a man-made islet, known as Islet G, in Jakarta Bay on April 17. The Jakarta Administrative Court on Wednesday ordered Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama to stop the construction of the islet. (The Jakarta Post/Seto Wardhana)
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overnor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama has said he abides by the Jakarta Administrative Court’s verdict that orders him to revoke a reclamation permit to PT Muara Wisesa Samudera (MWS), a subsidiary of PT Agung Podomoro Land (APL).
“Of course, we respect the court’s decision. We will wait until there is a final verdict,” said Ahok on Wednesday, responding to the verdict made on Tuesday that ordered him to revoke the Jakarta Gubernatorial Decree No. 2,238 of 2014 on the construction of Islet G by PT MWS.
Both the city administration and PT MWS said that they would appeal the court decision.
He said he also respected the decree issued by the Forestry and Environment Minister, Siti Nurbaya, who ordered the city administration to postpone the reclamation in the Jakarta Bay, pending the auditing of reclamation implementation documents.
With his latest statement, Ahok wanted to correct comments he made on Tuesday evening that the construction of Islet G could be continued by another company. He said he would authorize a city-owned company to continue the reclamation project.
“Last night, I did not hear the whole verdict. After knowing, we have to wait [for the results of the appeal],” said the governor as reported by kompas.com.
The verdict was in response to a cased filed by the Indonesian Traditional Fishermen’s Union (KNTI) over the reclamation that they claimed had affected the earning of fishermen operating in the Jakarta Bay.
PT MWS lawyer Ibnu Akhyat said on Tuesday that the court ruling came as a shock and added to the legal uncertainty that was already harming the investment climate in the country. Deputy governor Djarot saifuil Hidayat made a similar statement, saying that the city administration would also appeal the ruling.
The reclamation project came under the spotlight when Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) investigators arrested Mohamad Sanusi, a city councilor, for allegedly accepting a bribe from PT APL in relation to a reclamation draft bylaw being deliberated by the City Council.
The bribery case was allegedly related to efforts by the developer to influence certain details in the draft pertaining to private sector contributions. (bbn)
