Land Dispute in Tanah Abang: Hercules vs Ara, Documents from 1923 to Lawsuit
JAKARTA - The land issue in the Bongkaran Tanah Abang area, Kebon Kacang Ward, Tanah Abang District, Central Jakarta, between the United Indonesian People’s Movement (GRIB) Jaya and the government has entered a new phase.
General Chairman of GRIB Jaya, Rosario de Marshall alias Hercules, challenged the Minister of Housing and Settlement Areas (PKP) Maruarar Sirait and the President Director of PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI), Bobby Rasyidin, to prove that the land belongs to PT KAI.
“If this property indeed belongs to the state, bring the evidence, show it here. We’ll cross-check everything, from where the usage rights come from, from where the HPL (Land Management Rights) originates, where it all comes from,” said Hercules when met at the location on Friday (10/4/2026).
“Because I know this land very well, I’ve been here for decades. This land doesn’t belong to the railway,” he said at the same location.
Hercules and the GRIB Jaya legal team claim to have received power of attorney from the rightful heirs to fight for the rights to the land.
He explained that the land was previously leased to private parties and used for the operations of PT Aneka Beton. After that, the private parties managed the Land Management Rights (HPL) until 2017.
According to Hercules, after the HPL expired in 2017, the land returned to the original owner, Sulaeman Effendi.
Based on this history, he considers the land in Bongkaran Tanah Abang not to be state property.
He also denied allegations that the land is controlled by GRIB Jaya.
“So here, this land is not state property. So that the Indonesian people know that ‘Oh, Hercules, the mass organisation, thugs are controlling state land’. No,” he said.
The disputed land covers approximately 34,690 square metres and is located in the Bongkaran area, encompassing Kebon Kacang Ward and Kebon Melati Ward, Central Jakarta.
The boundaries of the land are: to the north bordering the Tinggi Bridge, to the east with the main road, to the west with the railway tracks and river, and to the south with a residential area.
Sulaeman Effendi is mentioned as the legitimate heir who still holds the original ownership documents that have been in place for more than a century.