Old Supreme Court building damaged due to project

JAKARTA (JP): Historical and protected heritage sites in Jakarta have been damaged to such an alarming extent that the agents now inflicting the damage often include government institutions.

This phenomenon was evidenced by the recent demolition of the rear part of the state-owned listed and registered old Supreme Court building on Jl. Lapangan Banteng Timur in Central Jakarta for the sake of the construction of a new building.

"The back part of the building was demolished to make way for trucks transporting building materials for the construction of a new building," said Arya Abieta, a member of the city's team on restoration council, while quoting the building development company's official.

Arya said the building's owner delegated all building development issues to a private company.

"It is ironic that this government institution did not coordinate with the other government institutions (when it started to demolish the construction) but let the developer breach the regulations," he said.

Arya said he had no idea when the building's rear part was demolished. At the end of last year, the restoration team appealed to a Ministry of Finance directorate which conducted the development. The ministry was then instructed to rebuild the destroyed parts of the building.

The building was owned by the ministry of finance despite its being named the Supreme Court building.

Asked why the ministry of finance was not punished for the demolition, Arya said that such decisions should be made by the museum and restoration agency, explaining that "the team was established only to help the agency's chairman handle programs on restoration."

Information on the heritage building itself is limited. The list of protected buildings in the city only cites that it was built in 1828 during the time of (Dutch) Governor General Du Bus.

Separately, an official at the museum and restoration agency who spoke under conditions of anonymity admitted that the continuing demolition of Jakarta's heritage sites highlighted the importance of immediately reviewing the Gubernatorial Decree on the city's protected buildings.

"We all realize about the weaknesses in the regulation. Preparation for the review is still underway," he said.

The official also said that there should be guidelines for the implementation of the gubernatorial decree. (ind)