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ative Jakartans, locally known as the Betawi people are known for their attachment to their land. In fact, their attachment is so close that at times they defend it with force.

The recent clash between officers from the Public Order Agency and locals standing against the demolition of local leader Mbah Priok’s tomb in North Jakarta indicates just how strong the bond is.

But the gentrification process, which dramatically converted land into shopping complexes, office buildings and high-end apartments, has put the bond between the Betawi and their land to the test.

It is simply too difficult to reject a Rp 30 million (US$3,400) offer for one square meter of land.

Saa Ali, 51, a native Betawi who lives in Kebon Kacang, Tanah Abang, Central Jakarta, said most locals in the neighborhood had sold their land to developers whose businesses were thriving soon after the construction of the Grand Indonesia Shopping Mall.

“Most of these people sold their land and relocated to the outskirts of Jakarta in places like Bekasi, Depok, Bogor, and Tangerang,” Saa told The Jakarta Post earlier this week.

Saa is head of neighborhood unit RT 009 in Kebon Kacang.

Saa considered himself the last man standing in the neighborhood now that his childhood friends and neighbors have moved elsewhere.

“They sell their land for money. They need the money to start a new business, and since their only property is land, they let it go,” he said.

Saa said that land brokers offered between Rp 20 million and Rp 30 million per square meter.

Kebon Kacang is one of the most premium locations in Jakarta given its strategic location in one of the city’s most thriving commercial districts, sandwiched between Tanah Abang textile market, the biggest in Southeast Asia, and the Grand Indonesia Mall, one of the biggest shopping malls in the city.

Saa said it was more convenient for the native Jakartans to simply sell their family land and share the money rather than quarrel over which plot they should control.

“The land is our legacy,” he said. “When both parents die, there’s often a quarrel about its division. So, before our parents died, we just sold the land and divided the money.”

Former Kebon Kacang native, Nurulloh, 40, also took the easier solution.

“Me and my siblings were afraid that the problem would be a source of family feuding so we just sold it in 1990,” he said.

After relocating to Ciputat in South Tangerang, Nurulloh returned to Kebun Kacang on a daily basis as he now works as an ojeg (motorcycle taxi) driver in his former neighborhood.

Another former native of Kebon Kacang, Edy Amid sold his home five months ago. He sold the house for fear of an impending family feud.

“I am afraid that when our parents die, the land will become a problem,” he said.

Edy recently bought a new house in Jati Mekar, Bekasi, West Java. However, he returns to Kebon Kacang daily where he works as a parking attendant at a convenience store near his old home.

Further to the south, in Simprug, it is only a matter of time before native Jakartans decide to start selling their land.

A native of Simprug, Hamzah, 50, said that there’s no reason to hold on to the land now that his neighborhood has been populated by high-end apartments and shopping complexes.

Hamzah, who takes odd jobs to make ends meet, said that he had no problem selling his land if the price was right.

All this time, Hamzah was expecting that someone would buy his plot of land and agree on the price of Rp 10 million (US$ 1,160) per square meter.

“I can live in my wife’s home village in Cipulir, South Jakarta, once I sell the land,” he said. (aaa)