Appeals and Cassation Still Pending, Pontjo Sutowo Refuses to Back Down from Hotel Sultan

The legal representative of PT Indobuildco, Hamdan Zoelva, has affirmed that his side will continue to pursue legal remedies regarding the dispute over the Hotel Sultan area in Central Jakarta. PT Indobuildco is a company owned by Pontjo Sutowo, which has long managed the Hotel Sultan located in the Gelora Bung Karno (GBK) area. According to the former Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court, the legal process for the case is not yet complete, even though an execution order for the eviction of the Hotel Sultan area has been issued by the Central Jakarta District Court. PT Indobuildco is also still filing appeals and cassation. “PT Indobuildco respects the court and every ongoing legal process. However, the execution of Hotel Sultan should not be forced. Every execution plan must truly adhere to the law and not disregard legitimate rights, workers’ rights, tenants, and other affected parties,” Hamdan told Kompas.com, quoted on Friday (7/8/2026). Hamdan stated that in the civil decision Number 208 of 2025, the panel of judges did order the eviction of the Hotel Sultan area. However, according to him, the judges also emphasised the importance of fair resolution through negotiation and reconciliation. He said this consideration aligns with the Judicial Review Decision Number 276 PK/Pdt/2011, which affirms PT Indobuildco’s pre-existing rights as an investor, including the investments already made on the land. “That PK decision affirms that because Indobuildco’s rights as an investor pre-existed along with the investments planted, the parties should make efforts to resolve it through negotiation to achieve a fair outcome for both sides,” Hamdan said. Hamdan also clarified that the object of the dispute in the case is the Hotel Sultan land area, not the building and hotel business. According to him, the Hotel Sultan building is not under a build, operate, transfer (BOT) scheme, so it cannot be directly executed or taken over. If the building is to be taken over or executed, there must be a legal mechanism and compensation payment. “The Hotel Sultan building is not BOT. The building and hotel business are PT Indobuildco’s rights. Therefore, the Hotel Sultan building cannot be executed just like that. If the building is to be taken or executed, there must be a legal mechanism and compensation payment,” Hamdan stated. In addition, Hamdan previously said that one of PT Indobuildco’s objections is due to a Supreme Court Circular stating that the implementation of immediate decisions must be accompanied by security money. That security money, according to him, is to anticipate any losses that may arise later. Meanwhile, the amount of security money requested by PT Indobuildco is equivalent to the price of the entire Hotel Sultan property. “Just value the hotel building at how much, equivalent to the hotel building’s value,” Hamdan said when met at the Central Jakarta District Court on Monday (9/2/2026). Previously, he told Kompas.com that the security money or compensation they deem equivalent to releasing ownership of Hotel Sultan to the government is worth Rp 28.292 trillion. The Central Jakarta District Court (PN Jakpus) has granted the execution request for Block 15 of the GBK area where Hotel Sultan stands in Central Jakarta.