REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, BANDUNG -- Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla met the summons of West Java's Special Court for Corruption Crimes (Tipikor) to appear as a witness in an alleged corruption case involving former district chief of Indramayu, West Java.

Former district chief of Indramayu Irianto Mahfudz Sidik Syafiuddin is accused of being involved in a land acquisition markup case related to the development of the Sumuradem 1 steam-fueled power plant in Indramayu, West Java.

Syafiuddin allegedly marked up the value of the land compensation to Rp.57.850 per square meter from the taxable value of property (NJOP) of only Rp.14.000 per square meter.

According to the court, Syafiuddin's act had resulted in state losses amounting to Rp4.1 billion, which warranted a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.

Earlier, the vice president had stated that he was willing to be a witness to affirm that the land acquisition was carried out in accordance with Presidential Decree No. 71 of 2006.

"I must testify that it really was the government's decision because he (Syafiuddin) is considered guilty in the land acquisition case, which was part of the government's decision," Kalla said.

According to the decree, all permissions regarding environmental impact, including acquisition and compensation of the transmission lines and the land acquisition process, should be completed within a maximum period of 120 days by agencies/officials concerned from when it is first proposed.

The vice president further noted that the acceleration of the land acquisition would benefit the government because then, the power plant projects could be realized.

Besides, the value of the land acquisition cost was not too detrimental to the state as compared to the investment value of the power plant.

"When compared to the land price, which is only 0.3 per cent (of the investment value), and the immediate acquisition process, it would benefit the state. The land acquisition only cost Rp43 billion, while the construction of the power plant cost Rp10 trillion," Kalla pointed out.

Moreover, expediting the land acquisition in this case was more efficient as compared to those of similar projects in other areas, where the land acquisition process hampered the construction of the power plants.

"When compared to the acquisition process in other regions like Batang in Central Java, where it is still ongoing, how much loss did this cause? Here (in Indramayu) the process was completed fast, which benefitted the state," the vice president emphasized.

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