Slamet Susanto and Tarko Sudiarno, Yogyakarta – Tired of waiting for reconstruction aid, a group of May 27 earthquake survivors in Yogyakarta decided the time had come for them to collect what they deserved.
On Wednesday, hundreds of the survivors staged a noisy protest outside a top-level coordination meeting at the Gedung Agung Presidential Palace in Yogyakarta.
The forum, attended by Vice President Jusuf Kalla, Yogyakarta Governor Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono X, Central Java Governor Mardiyanto and other officials, was convened to discuss the reconstruction of the thousands of houses damaged when the 6.7-magnitude earthquake hit Yogyakarta and Central Java.
The survivors, who came from badly damaged areas including Bantul and Klaten, gathered outside the palace in the early morning, but were prevented from entering the compound by tight security.
Before the meeting, Kalla spoke with 15 representatives of the group. The survivors told the Vice President they had yet to receive reconstruction assistance – Rp 30 million (US$3,260) for collapsed houses, Rp 20 million for severely damaged houses and Rp 10 million for lightly damaged buildings – and said living allowances were being distributed unequally among victims.
The government has earmarked Rp 4 trillion for the reconstruction fund but only 1.2 trillion has been distributed.
"I've said it repeatedly, and it has been written in the media. The figures, Rp 30 million, Rp 20 million and Rp 10 million are the maximum (amounts to be disbursed to homeowners)... The government has already disbursed Rp 1.2 trillion (for that purpose)," Kalla said.
He promised the villagers they would receive money to rebuild their damaged homes. "The assistance will be given in stages... (We) use the (Rp 1.2 trillion) assistance first, then we move on," Kalla said.
He said the government had distributed living allowances worth Rp 90,000 each to 1.6 million people, at a total cost of Rp 200 billion. The allowance was to help people survive for one month.
The state had also prepared an additional tranche for 450,000 quake victims who had yet to receive the money, Kalla said.
"The central government has agreed to fund 60 percent of the shortfall (in the fund) so all 2.1 million quake victims in Central Java and Yogyakarta will get their living allowances."
Governor Hamengkubuwono promised to ensure the distribution of the allowances was hastened. "Tomorrow, those who have not yet received the living allowances will get them," he told the survivors.
Hamengkubuwono said the Rp 90,000 allowance, which the government had initially planned to give out for three months, would now be given only for one month.
Moreover, he said survivors would no longer be eligible for an extra monthly Rp 100,000 to buy clothing and household appliances because the money would be shifted to the reconstruction fund.
He said the provincial administration was sourcing building materials for the survivors at market prices. "We're working to provide 300,000 tons of cement at a normal price." An estimated 1.5 million tons of sand needed for the work would be sourced from the Mount Merapi area, he said.
"Currently, the prices of building materials are higher than normal. Bricks, which usually cost Rp 120 each, are now priced at Rp 500, while bamboo now costs Rp 10,000 a bushel, from the earlier price of Rp 4,000. These are not normal prices," he said.
Hamengkubowono said families would be organized into groups of 15 households to build around 200 houses. The families would get paid and the work would not involve building contractors, he said.