Rindu Alam, the violator that inspired others

Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

When discussing the thousands of illegal villas and buildings in the West Java tourist resort of Puncak, it is necessary to mention Rindu Alam restaurant, the first prominent violator of the 1963 presidential decree on development in Puncak.

The building is easily spotted by motorists making their way from Jakarta to Bandung, sitting prominently on the side of the main road at the top of Puncak, at an altitude of 1,200 meters.

The restaurant was constructed in July 1980 by the late Ibrahim Adjie, the former West Java Siliwangi Military commander.

The restaurant is popular with travelers, for apart from its location halfway between Jakarta and Bandung, it also offers a good view of the surrounding area.

There was actually a building constructed in the area where Rindu Alam now sits in 1971, namely Eisei, a private Japanese pharmaceutical laboratory. But the laboratory has since been demolished.

Since Rindu Alam's construction, there have been several attempts to demolish the restaurant by government officials. Former president Soeharto reportedly once summoned Ibrahim and asked him to tear down the building.

But Ibrahim said that he asked the president to give him five years to demolish the building so that he could recoup the money he had invested in its construction.

Ibrahim, who was also a former ambassador to Britain and Switzerland, said in September 1980 he was given the right to use the state land from the West Java administration, while a building permit was obtained from the Bogor regency administration.

According to former home affairs minister Rudini, however, the permit issued for the location was only for a parking lot and a rest area, not a restaurant.

Former public works minister Poernomosidi once said the restaurant should be demolished, stressing that it was the responsibility of the central government to issue building permits for the area, not the regency administration.

But the restaurant continues to stand today, becoming something of a monument to the violation of environmental regulations.

And many people believe that the presence of the restaurant encouraged others to build illegal villas and buildings in Puncak over the years.

The Bogor administration, which has the authority to tear down the restaurant, remains unsure as to what action it should take. The head of the Bogor Public Works Agency, Adrian Aria Kusumah, said he could not find any documents relating to Rindu Alam.

"How can I talk about law enforcement while the documents for Rindu Alam are still missing," Adrian told The Jakarta Post recently.