Yuli Tri Suwarni , The Jakarta Post , Bandung | Sat, 10/17/2009 1:10 PM | Headlines
Bandung residents may no longer be able to play, exercise or hang out at Gasibu Square, one of the city’s landmarks, after the 18,000-square-meter park was wrenched from the control of the provincial administration.
The historic Gasibu, long a popular public space, is strategically located in the heart of Bandung, right under the nose of the West Java administration office building - the famous Gedung Sate building.
The Supreme Court ruled last month in favor of a group of people who proved they were the rightful owners of the land through inheritance, turning down the West Java administration’s claims that the square was public property.
Enny Haryani, head of the West Java law and human rights bureau, said Thursday the Sept. 15 ruling was a “slap in the face” of the administration that had managed the Gasibu Square since the 1950s.This is not the first time the administration has lost a legal battle against residents claiming inheritance rights over public property.
The provincial administration previously lost a lawsuit to retain SMP 3 state junior high school in Lembang and SMA 22 senior high school in Bandung.
It is also currently in a legal wrangle with groups claiming to be the legal heirs to homes and other property on Jl. Aceh, Dago and Setiabudi.
In the Gasibu case, the Supreme Court upheld rulings by lower courts in favor of Bandung resident Eutik and her family in the dispute over the land’s ownership.
The family sued the West Java administration, Indonesian Navy, PT Taspen, Bank Mandiri, Auw Sia Tjeu and Suryatin Abdulrahman Habiebie for claiming ownership of properties at Gasibu stretching from Jl. Sentot Alibasyah to Jl. Diponegoro.
There are 42 beneficiaries listed under Eutik’s name, all represent-ed by law firm K. Sarbini and Associates.
Enny, however, was adamant that the provincial administration was Gasibu’s official management and the legal holder of its ownership certificate, issued by the National Land Agency (BPN).
“If such a certificate from the BPN can simply be annulled like this, then where is the legal certainty?” she said.
Enny added her office had prepared a final legal challenge to the Supreme Court’s verdict, citing that land law experts had insisted the land documents submitted by Eutik were only proof of paying taxes, and not proof of ownership.
“We’ve reported this irregularity to the police and we’ll take it up with the Supreme Court in Jakarta on Monday,” she said.
However, West Java Development Planning Board head Deny Juanda Puradimadja said the flaw in the certification process of idle assets owned by the administration lay in proving their original rights.