Bang Ali backs city on Hilton issue

JAKARTA (JP): Former governor Ali Sadikin insisted on Tuesday that the land occupied by the Jakarta Hilton International in the exclusive Senayan area in South Jakarta belonged to the state.

The hotel's 13-hectare plot should therefore be managed by the city administration, he said.

"I took over (appropriation of) the land at that time. It should be returned to the city," Ali said after meeting with Governor Sutiyoso.

During his tenure as Jakarta governor in 1971, Ali said he signed an agreement with PT Patra Jasa, a subsidiary of state- owned oil and mining company Pertamina, to build a hotel and a convention hall on the state land.

The land-use permit for the project was valid for 20 years, he added.

"I don't know how and who then extended the period for another 10 years until 2001," Ali said.

The hotel and the convention hall were initially built to accommodate participants in the Asia Pacific Tourism Conference at the time, he said.

Ali claimed he was shocked and disappointed when he discovered the hotel was owned by PT Indobuildco, a private firm belonging to the family of former Pertamina president Ibnu Sutowo.

"I thought that the hotel and convention center would belong to the state since they were built by Pertamina," he said.

Hilton public relations manager Dewi Widiyanti could not be reached for comment on Tuesday.

Ali expressed disappointment that Senayan, a designated green- belt area, was now a "forest" of skyscrapers.

"It's against the spirit of (former president) Soekarno," he added.

The Gelora Senayan Management Board has denied the plot belongs to the city, saying it came under its management in 1984. (jun)