Old Supreme Court building damaged due to project

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)