West Lombok Government Issues Ultimatum to STIE AMM: Pay Rent or Vacate

The West Lombok Regency Government has given the Mataram Management Academy’s School of Economics a 14-day deadline to determine its stance regarding the use of government-owned land on Jalan Pendidikan, Mataram City. Assistant III of the West Lombok Regional Secretariat, Fauzan Husniadi, stated that an official letter concerning the deadline was dispatched to STIE AMM on Wednesday. The regency is asking STIE AMM to immediately decide whether it is willing to pay rent based on the latest appraisal or choose to vacate the land it has been using. “We are providing a 14-day deadline from the date this letter was sent for them to immediately decide, whether they agree or disagree with the offered rental value. If they continue to refuse, we invite them to leave, and we will forcibly remove them,” stressed Fauzan on Friday. Fauzan emphasised that the West Lombok Regency Government would also pursue criminal charges if STIE AMM continued to refuse paying rent while still utilising the roughly 17,000-square-metre plot. “We will also pursue criminal proceedings for the next stage if they remain stubborn,” he asserted. He also dismissed suggestions that the West Lombok Regency Government’s policy hinders the development of education. According to Fauzan, STIE AMM, as a private higher education institution, possesses the financial capacity to meet its land rental obligations because it generates income from student tuition fees. Previously, West Lombok Regent Lalu Ahmad Zaini had threatened to reclaim the regency-owned land currently used by STIE AMM. The statement was made because the campus reportedly had never paid rent up to that point. “There is no compromise. If they don’t pay the rent, then I will take back our asset,” he stressed. The regent stated that the rental value must refer to the latest appraisal, which is approximately Rp 241.9 million per year. However, STIE AMM only offered Rp 25 million per year. “I’m done negotiating. The bottom line is, according to the decision, the appraisal value must be paid,” the regent emphasised. Meanwhile, STIE AMM has yet to provide an official response. A STIE AMM public relations officer stated that the institution was still conducting internal coordination. The land dispute originated when the 17,000-square-metre plot was initially granted by the West Lombok Regency Government to the Kosgoro NTB Tri Dharma Educational Institution Development Association of STIE AMM in 1986 under a right-of-use status. However, the West Lombok Regency Government considered that there was no lifetime right to use and no contribution from STIE AMM to the region. Consequently, the regency issued Regent Decree Number 697/72/BPKAD/2020, dated 28 September 2020, which revoked the previous decree concerning the handover of land use. This policy was subsequently challenged by STIE AMM at the Mataram State Administrative Court. The dispute continued to the cassation level, where the Supreme Court ruled in favour of STIE AMM. However, the West Lombok Regency Government issued a new decree in 2025 revoking the 1986 regent’s decree, changing the land utilisation status from a right-of-use to a leasehold. Objecting to this policy, STIE AMM again sued the West Lombok Regency Government at the Mataram State Administrative Court. Concurrently, the West Lombok Regency Government also reported STIE AMM to the NTB High Prosecutor’s Office regarding alleged asset misuse and indications of corruption. Currently, legal processes are ongoing both at the Mataram State Administrative Court and the NTB High Prosecutor’s Office.