Indra Harsaputra and ID Nugroho, Sidoarjo – Mudflow victims greeted with reservation President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's latest instructions for the company at the center of disaster to pay up, saying they doubted Lapindo would really follow orders.
Yudhoyono issued a series of instructions Tuesday to speed up compensation for people displaced by the mudflow in Sidoarjo, East Java.
Lapindo Brantas Inc. was ordered to immediately pay 20 percent of the compensation due to 522 families whose ownership of mudflow-affected land and homes has been verified and to 10,000 other families between July 1 and Sept. 14. The remaining 80 percent is to be paid a month before the end of the two-year house rent assistance period, which will run out in 2009.
Mudflow victim Muhammad Kusnan from Kedungbendo village hopes Yudhoyono is not all talk. "We're just waiting to see if the President's instructions will really make Lapindo pay up," the 56-year-old said.
Yudhoyono also instructed the Sidoarjo and East Java administrations to deal with displaced residents taking shelter in Pasar Baru Porong market.
Victims said these latest instructions showed Yudhoyono's lack of understanding of the mudflow disaster. They also rejected the President's order on the immediate 20 percent compensation payout.
"We want 50 percent compensation payment, since this amount would be fairer," Abimanyu from the Renokenongo Villagers Association told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.
He said the President should be made aware that the victims are split over the payout – some have agreed to the initial 20 percent compensation payment, while others demand 50 percent or full compensation up front.
"Those living in the shelter want 50 percent of the compensation paid immediately, along with 30 hectares of land. If (the government) wants to solve this problem, pay us," he said.
He said an initial compensation payment of 50 percent would be a reasonable amount to help victims build new homes, while the 30 hectares of land would replace the villagers' flooded fields.
As of late Wednesday, no officials had come to the shelter to discuss the President's instructions with the victims.
Andi Darussalam Tabusala, vice president of PT Minarak Lapindo Jaya, which is in charge of the compensation payouts, said the company has been working to speed up the compensation process and did not want to complicate things for victims.
"If the data is complete, the compensation payment process will speed up," he said.
The company paid compensation to 115 mudflow victims and owners of 150 plots of land and buildings Wednesday. So far, the company has paid Rp 175 billion in compensation to owners of 522 of some 14,000 plots of land and buildings destroyed in the disaster.
Head of the Sidoarjo Mudflow Mitigation Agency, Soenarso, said the agency would work harder to complete the verification process and ensure Lapindo is committed to resolving the issue.
"The President has instructed me to work harder. I will do everything in my power to see that the problem is resolved," he said.
The President's instructions failed to satisfy affected business owners. Owner of watchmaker PT CPS, Ritonga, said he was disappointed the President did not pay closer attention to victims and their suffering. "We just want the President and Lapindo to care about us."