City holds onto Pulau Seribu

JAKARTA (JP): The Jakarta administration is immersed in a bitter dispute with the Tangerang administration over several islands in Pulau Seribu (Thousand Islands).

Governor Sutiyoso rejected handing over the islands on Wednesday to the Tangerang regency, following the issuance of a government regulation on the establishment of Pulau Seribu regency, which will remain under the city administration.

"It's clear that the islands belong to the city, that is according to the law," Sutiyoso said at City Hall.

The Tangerang regency said on Wednesday that it would file a judicial review with the Supreme Court against the government regulation.

The Tangerang regency argued that according to Law No. 22/1999 on regional autonomy, nine islands in the chain belong to the regency as they were located less than four miles from the Tangerang coastline.

The nine disputed islands are Rambut, Karang, Laki, Cangkir, Bokor, Karang Tiga, Gosong, Untung Jawa and Ubi Kecil. (jun)