Heritage building lovers, architects and historians will send a petition to the Tangerang mayor Friday, urging him to stop the demolition of a 19th-century housing complex in Karawaci, Tangerang.

Twenty-two people signed the petition at a meeting held by volunteer group Citizens Care for Heritage Buildings (Walibatu).

"We are still working to get more signatures," said the group's leader, Dharmawan Handonowarih.

He said many people had commented on their website, but had not yet signed the petition.

The group is also considering a class action should the petition fail to save the two-house complex.

Tangerang Mayor Wahidin Halim on Tuesday said the administration was not concerned about privately owned houses.

Despite having discussed the houses at length in his book Ziarah Budaya Kota Tangerang (Tangerang City Cultural Pilgrimage), he said he was not aware of the complex.

Heritage building are protected under a 1992 law and a 1993 law on culturally protected artifacts. The 1993 law has not been implemented. It still needs a local ordinance, Wahidin said.

According to the 1992 law, something is considered a heritage item if it meets one of two classifications.

If it is man-made it should be more than 50 years old, or represent a unique style from at least 50 years ago, which is deemed to have historical, scientific and cultural value.

Second, if it is a natural item, then it is anything deemed to have historical, scientific and cultural value.

Privately owned heritage items, such as heirlooms, should be registered at the government.

Ella Ubaidi, from Jakarta Old Town Community, said she once tried to report an illegal alteration to a protected building, but the report bounced around government offices without result.

"The law is there, but it is not really enforced."

The law states that any alteration may result in a maximum Rp 100 million fine (US$8,400) and/or 10 years' imprisonment.

Budi Lim, an architect who worked on the restoration of the National Archive Museum in West Jakarta, said that although alerting the government was important, the public could work more efficiently in such an urgent situation.

Part of the complex, which sat on 2.5 hectares by Cisadane River near Lippo Karawaci residential area, had already been torn down.

The rest of the complex, which once belonged to a Chinese Lieutenant, Oey Djie San, would share the same fate in days to come.

The building were sold at around Rp 700 million, with the land having a Rp 22 billion price tag. The lawyer of the owner confirmed the sale Tuesday.

Budi said the building could be restored at another place as a compromise.

He said he knew people who cared about heritage building and were willing to participate in the effort. He added that more Tangerang locals should be involved to create a sense of belonging.

Adolf Heuken, the author of Historical Sites of Jakarta, urged the public and government to help save the complex.

"A lot of people in Jakarta and its surrounding areas do not know anything about their neighborhoods. The building are evidence of the history of different areas," he said.

"Without them, people will forget the past."

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