The Association of Indonesian Architects (IAI) welcomes the new enacted gubernatorial regulation in Jakarta which prevents unlicensed architects being involved in property constructions.

The revised gubernatorial regulation was formally enacted this month.

"The new regulation will oblige all architects working for building constructions to hold their own design and planning permit," IAI chairman Budi Adelar Sukada said Wednesday.

"Permit letters were frequently being copied and illegally sold by licensed architects to unlicensed ones. There was no firm punishment before," Budi said.

He said every year the IAI fired 10 of its members who were found to have sold their permit letters. "They can easily return to their membership and get new permits."

The new regulation requires all architecture university graduates involved in construction to become members of the IAI and obtain certificates before getting their own permit letters.

"Before this regulation, any graduate from vocational schools could easily get a false permit."

The IAI currently has 6,000 architects in Jakarta, which comprises about half of its entire membership nationwide. Only 1,500 of them have their own permit letters.

However, the regulation still has weaknesses, said Budi.

"The city administration usually only supervises construction in certain locations, like in commercial areas as well as properties designated for social and public services.

"So, the permit issue for housing construction may easily being overlooked."

He said there was also current regulation allowing construction on land under 700 square meters wide for which a permit from the mayor or heads of districts and subdistricts is required. He said all administration officials needed to be introduced to the new regulation.

Head of the city's Property Management and Control Agency Hari Sasongko said Wednesday, "Supervising construction is not only the job of the administration. Architects also need to monitor their own property designs because they are the ones who will complain if their designs are changed during implementation."

Hari also acknowledged the administration's previous penalty to destroy properties made by unlicensed architects wasineffective.

"They keep constructing more unlicensed buildings in the city and it costs the administration more money to demolish them."

In 2006, the agency recorded 5,000 property violations in Jakarta, with 600 buildings being demolished by the administration. Last year, the agency saw less than 5,000 property violations, with 800 of them being destroyed.

Hari said, "With the new permit regulation, it won't just be the buildings that come under penalty. The people in charge of the construction will also be held accountable, especially the architects."

He said architects caught selling their permit letters would lose their permits as well as their life-time memberships.

Both Hari and Budi were present in a seminar Wednesday on Architecture in Indonesia, held by the University of Indonesia's architecture faculty.

Hari said many architects in Indonesia neglected the environmental impacts and security issues of their properties.

"Many architects seem to live in their own world, aiming for aesthetics."

Hari also said architects had a moral responsibility in designing buildings that are comfortable enough to live in.

Budi, who acknowledged design is rarely perfect, said the government's lack of support and acknowledgement of local architects as national assets was regrettable.

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