Chandra Hamzah Responds to Pontjo Sutowo Camp's Protests Over Hotel Sultan

PT Indobuildco has voiced its objection to the eviction of the Hotel Sultan complex. The company’s legal counsel, Jaja Setiadijaya, asserted that the dispute is not solely about the recognition of the Gelora Management Right (HPL), but also concerns the rights of PT Indobuildco, which he claims have never been settled. “The 2011 judicial review ruling number 276 PK declared HPL number 1 to be valid. The problem is that our Right to Build (HGB) is included within that HPL. It will become part of the HPL when its rights expire,” Jaja stated at Hotel Sultan on Thursday (18/6/2026). According to Jaja, HPL Number 1 Gelora contains conditions that must be met before PT Indobuildco’s HGB can be incorporated into the HPL. These conditions include a release of rights from the HGB holder and the provision of compensation by the HPL holder to the party whose rights will expire. “To this day, there has never been an event of rights release from the owner, PT Indobuildco,” he said. Jaja therefore argued that the eviction should not be carried out if the obligations stipulated in the HPL have not been fulfilled. He stated that the HPL holder also has an obligation to provide compensation for the land that will later fall under the HPL. “If an execution occurs solely on the order to vacate, but the dictum in the HPL decree is not implemented, that is what I call robbery,” he said. Amid this polemic, Indobuildco claims it is still pursuing various legal avenues. In addition to an ongoing cassation process, there is also a third-party challenge filed by tenants, the hotel operator, and parties claiming to be the original landowners through Eigendom Verponding. Jaja stated that the Eigendom Verponding holders claim they have never received land acquisition payments from the government. He therefore questioned claims that the area has long been a state asset. Jaja also revealed that PT Indobuildco acquired the land after paying US$1.5 million to the DKI Jakarta Regional Government in 1972. Subsequently, the government issued HGB Numbers 26 and 27 to the company. “If this is a state asset, it would be impossible for HGB 26 and 27 to be issued on top of an HPL, because the HPL was only issued in 1989. Our HGB has been issued since 1972,” Jaja said. Beyond highlighting the land status, Jaja confirmed that all Hotel Sultan buildings were constructed using PT Indobuildco’s funds without state financing. He also stressed that to date, no court ruling has explicitly declared HGB Numbers 26 and 27, owned by PT Indobuildco, to be state assets or State-Owned Property (BMN). “No court ruling has ever stated that HGB 26 and 27 are assets or BMN. Never,” he said. Despite these objections, the government continued the execution stages mandated by the court. The legal counsel for the Gelora Bung Karno Complex Management Centre (PPKGBK), Chandra M. Hamzah, assessed that the execution marks the end of a very lengthy legal process. The dispute between the state and PT Indobuildco is said to have lasted around two decades before reaching the eviction stage. “The government, the state, complies with existing legal procedures. Previously, Indobuildco’s legal counsel said there was no eviction execution order. Now I am calling in that statement, because there is now a court order to carry out the eviction execution,” Chandra said. The long journey of the case demonstrates that the government pursued all available legal stages before requesting the court to carry out the execution. Therefore, the eviction carried out on Thursday is described as a follow-up to a ruling that has obtained legal force. “Because of that, today the Central Jakarta District Court will carry out the eviction execution,” he said.