Museum case gets mayor's attention

JAKARTA (JP): North Jakarta Mayor Suprawito has promised to pay closer attention to a development project which affects the 17th century Maritime Museum in Sunda Kelapa harbor.

The museum is housed in an old warehouse formerly used by the Dutch East India Company (VOC).

The case involves a change in the status of the land surrounding the museum.

According to the original plan, the land was to be used for government offices. Instead a market has been built on the 1,264 square meters of land surrounding the Bahari Museum in North Jakarta.

"The change of status of any land must be agreed upon by the governor and the city council," Suprawito was reported by Antara as saying.

The new construction has flanked the museum with private stores.

Despite the official land use designation, the stores, which have sprung-up since 1986, have building permits issued by the city administration that are valid until 1999.

The permits were issued because the requests met all the required conditions, including the approval of the Jakarta city planning agency and the City Office for Land Affairs. (01)