Tanah Abang Land Controversy: Hercules vs the State, Who Has the Strongest Evidence?

JAKARTA – The controversy surrounding the ownership of a 34,690 square metre plot in the Bongkaran area of Tanah Abang, Central Jakarta, has sparked a debate between GRIB Jaya General Chairman Jaya Rosario de Marshall, alias Hercules, and the Minister of Housing and Human Settlements (PKP) Maruarar Sirait.

Hercules claims that the land does not belong to the state or PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI), but to the heirs named Sulaeman Effendi.

He states that this claim is based on Eigendom Verponding Document Number 946 from 1923 in the name of Iljas Radjo Mentari.

This difference in claims raises the question: who possesses the strongest evidence?

Advocate M. Ismak assesses that the key to this dispute lies in the clarity of the initial land ownership data.

He explains that if the land is proven to be a railway operational asset during the Dutch East Indies era, its legal status would transfer to state ownership through the 1958 nationalisation process.

According to Ismak, if PT KAI has a basis in the form of a grondkaart or colonial-era land map, it could strengthen the state’s claim over the land.

Regarding the use of the 1923 Eigendom Verponding by Hercules’ side, Ismak emphasises that this document no longer constitutes strong proof of ownership.

He adds that currently, eigendom only functions as an administrative guide for the conversion process, not as valid proof of ownership.

“Currently, eigendom is not an indicator of land ownership, but a guiding document,” he adds.

In agreement, Lecturer in Agrarian Law at the University of Indonesia, Hendriani Parwitasari, reminds that there is a time limit for converting old documents such as eigendom.