Djarianto, head of regional autonomy and administration at the East Java administration, said the report was made to the Home Ministry and the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry, after it received the same report from an NGO in Sumenep.

"We have reported it to the central government and admitted the provincial administration has been facing difficulties in keeping a close watch on hundreds of small islands in a number of regions in East Java," Djarianto said.

He said surveillance of the islands was currently conducted by the respective regency administrations at a lower than optimal level, and confirmed that speculations about small islands being traded to investors had recently emerged.

"Of the 446 islands spread across the East Java region, most are uninhabited," said Djarianto.

He added that of the 13 regencies and municipalities where the islands were located, Malang and Sumenep were the two regencies with the highest numbers of small islands. Malang has 110 and Sumenep has 140 islands.

Sutan Habib the chairman of LSM Modern, an NGO based in Sumenep, said the sale of the two islands of Sitabok and Seradeng was no longer an issue because his office had obtained evidence they had been traded.

The evidence, he said, included a down-payment document worth Rp 200 million for the purchase of a 2.7-hectare plot of land in Sitabok island, from an owner named Aminah who was issued a numbered ownership certificate.

"The land was sold to a businessman from Bali, Zainal Seniya, for Rp 3 billion.

"According to some sources, Zainal said he would pay the amount in full on one condition; that all residents leave the island," Sutan told The Jakarta Post.

Sitabok island is located about 60 kilometers off Madura island.

More than 33 families, or 115 people, live on the 4.5-hectare island. The status of other parts of the island were not included in Aminah's certificate of ownership as they are under the control of the state.

"We also have evidence of the involvement of a councilor in Sumenep who took care of the documents needed for the trade of the land under the state's care, to make it possible for Zainal to purchase the land," Sutan said.

Sutan also said he had received information saying that the islands could possibly be developed into a tourist beach or marine resort destination.

"Sitabok is rich in coral reefs and fish," he said.

He added that apart from buying Sitabok, the businessman also intended to buy plots of land in Seradeng island, which is currently inhabited by 150 families.

Sumenep councilor Badrul Aini said he had also heard about the lands in Sitabok and Seradeng being bought by Zainal who he said later rented them to investors from Canada and Singapore.

"Like Sitabok, Seradeng also has the potential to be developed into a marine tourist resort like Bunaken," said Badrul Aini.

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