Protected building owners face inquiry over damages<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The City Council will question executives of the
\nfirm which owns a protected building in Central Jakarta about
\nplans to renovate the structure and the effort to locate items
\nwhich had been missing from the building.<\/p>\n
The head of Commission E for social welfare affairs, Edy
\nSuchro Abdul Djalal, said the meeting with executives of PT
\nMandala Griya Putra was scheduled for next week and would also be
\nattended by officials from the Jakarta Museum and Restoration
\nAgency and several other related institutions.<\/p>\n
Edy said the company should be held legally responsible for
\nneglecting the 80-year-old Dutch-style building on Jl. Teuku
\nUmar.<\/p>\n
The company's plan to renovate the building does not mean its
\nresponsibility is automatically ended, Edy said.<\/p>\n
The councilor from the National Mandate Party (PAN), however,
\nrefused to disclose what legal charges could be laid against the
\ncompany, which took over the building from the Ministry of
\nJustice in 1997 after paying Rp 9 billion as part of a land
\nexchange.<\/p>\n
Before the property changed hands, the building was used by
\nthe ministry as the Central Jakarta Immigration Office.<\/p>\n
In exchange for the building on Jl. Teuku Umar, PT Mandala
\nGriya Putra paid for the renovation of a building in Kemayoran to
\nserve as the new Central Jakarta Immigration Office and the
\nconstruction of a building in Pulo Gebang, East Jakarta, for the
\nJakarta State Administrative Court.<\/p>\n
The historic building was known as the Batavia Cultural Center
\nduring Dutch colonialism, and was the first such concrete
\nstructure in the city.<\/p>\n
The disrepair which the protected building had fallen into was
\nfirst spotted by local media in September this year. The
\nbuilding's roof and floor were severely damaged and a number of
\nwindows, door frames and antique lamps from inside the structure
\nwere missing.<\/p>\n
The media reports alerted city authorities to the plight of
\nthe building.<\/p>\n
Governor Sutiyoso demanded PT Mandala Griya Cipta be held
\nresponsible for damage to the building and any missing items.<\/p>\n
In response, the company offered a total reward of Rp 1
\nbillion for the return of the missing items.<\/p>\n
Edy said the company wrote a letter to Sutiyoso recently
\nindicating their failure to locate items missing from the
\nbuilding, which the company claimed were stolen by scavengers.<\/p>\n
Separately, commission E vice chairman Ishak Iskandar said the
\ncommission would not simply trust claims made by the firm.<\/p>\n
\"We need to know whether they really worked hard to find the
\nmissing items. However, no matter what, the company should be
\nresponsible for damage to the building,\" said Ishak, a member of
\nthe Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan).<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, an expert on the city's historic buildings, Arya
\nAbieta from the Association of Indonesian Architects, said PT
\nMandala Griya Cipta should immediately begin renovating the
\nbuilding to protect against potential damage during the rainy
\nseason.<\/p>\n
\"The renovation should be a priority to avoid further damage
\nto the building,\" he said.<\/p>\n
A guard at the building, Kusno, said on Monday PT Mandal Griya
\nCipta decided to begin renovation work at the end of this month.<\/p>\n
No one at the company, however, could be reached for comment.
\n(ind)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/protected-building-owners-face-inquiry-over-damages-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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