The execution of Hotel Mulia

The execution of Hotel Mulia

The Hotel Mulia Senayan, which has been embroiled in a host of
controversies since the first phase of its construction, has
again come in to the limelight. This time it is about the verdict
passed by the Central Jakarta district court, which rules that
the hotel must be seized by the state if its management fails to
pay about Rp 15 billion to the government as ordered by the
Supreme Court.

This hotel has become a controversy because of alleged
corruption, collusion and nepotism. The land on which the hotel
now stands used to belong to the Senayan Management Board. Later,
God knows how, the use of the land was transferred to a company
close to the Soeharto family. Then they built a hotel and enjoyed
a lot of concessions as it was said that the hotel would be
intended for athletes taking part in SEA Games XIX in 1997,
despite the presence in this area of some other hotels such as
the Hilton and the Century Park.

One of the concessions given was the permit to build 40 floors
for Rp 20 billion in compensation to the Jakarta administration.
In fact, the city administration has stipulated that in this area
the highest building must have only a maximum of 16 floors. Also,
various goods needed for the hotel were believed to have been
given tax concessions or exemptions. Nobody dared to raise a
protest because the Soeharto regime was still in power.

Now that the regime has changed, Mulia management is still
unwilling to pay the fine imposed on them. The Jakarta
administration has gone through a number of legal processes in
this respect and finally in December 2001, the Supreme Court
ruled by virtue of its decision No. 3255 K/Pdt/2001 that the
hotel management must pay Rp 15,139,070,469 at once and in cash.

It seems that the management of the hotel still enjoys strong
backing, from the Soeharto family, some political parties and
retired generals. That's why they have refused to pay the fine.
Then, of course, the Jakarta administration has asked the Central
Jakarta district court to back them in their bid to recover the
money or seize the hotel.

-- Warta Kota, Jakarta