Sultan sued over land dispute

Sri Wahyuni, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta

A complaint against Yogyakarta Sultan Hamengkubuwono X was filed with the police on Wednesday by three descendants of Sultan Hamengkubuwono VII for allegedly illegally appropriating 40,410 square meters of land and a building located on Jl. Laksda Adisucipto.

Triyanto Prastowo, one of Hamengkubuwono VII's heirs who filed the complaint with the police on Wednesday, said on Thursday that the land and building, called Pesanggrahan Ambarrukmo, had belonged to his great grandfather. The other two who signed the complaint were identified as Roosharwantoaji and Goewindo.

They, however, offered no proof of ownership of the land and building.

"On Nov. 30, 1995, Sultan Hamengkubuwono X changed the ownership of the plot of land and building," said Triyanto, adding that he had learned about the name transfer from the Yogyakarta land affairs office.

"That is why have we reported the case to the police, considering that what the sultan did was a form of fraud. Borrowing from palace language, it is called nyulayani, or violating palace law," said Triyanto, who is also a policeman at Gondomanan Police station.

Triyanto said Sultan Hamengkubuwono X had never asked for permission to transfer ownership of the pesanggrahan (rest house) and the land, where the state-owned Ambarrukmo Palace Hotel is presently located.

"We, the heirs of Sultan Hamengkubuwono VII, have never enjoyed the business either," said Triyanto.

Pesanggrahan Ambarrukmo, located 10 kilometers northeast of Yogyakarta Palace, according to Triyanto, was the residence of Sultan Hamengkubuwono VII since Jan. 29, 1921 after he stepped down as the sultan of Yogyakarta. He lived there until he died on Dec. 30 in the same year.

According to Palace Law No. 16/1918 and Law No. 11/1920, he said, the land and building located outside the Yogyakarta Palace, where a retired sultan lived, automatically belonged to the respective sultan and his heirs and not to the palace as an institution.

Triyanto also revealed that his extended family had tried many ways to settle the dispute since 1999.

Once, for example, Hamengkubuwono VII's grandson Wisnoe Wardhana tried to get in touch with the ruling sultan to discuss the dispute, but failed, said Triyanto.

Sultan Hamengkubuwono X was not available for comment.