R

esidents of Kampung Luar Batang in North Jakarta are determined to fight the eviction planned by the Jakarta administration to make way for the revitalization of the area.

The historic neighborhood has been occupied by residents for hundreds of years. However, the Jakarta administration recently announced that it would evict and relocate residents into low-cost apartments (rusunawa).

A warning letter ordering residents to dismantle their homes was sent out by the city administration last Thursday, followed closely by an official eviction notification letter on March 30.

Local leader and resident Muhammad Dasim, whose house is expected to be demolished, said that residents had not been informed of the eviction prior to the letter and had not been invited to discuss the matter.

“Residents were not invited to a discussion. The warning letter was issued suddenly and then an officer from the city administration, accompanied by policemen and military officers, came to mark the homes which would be evicted,” Dasim told The Jakarta Post at his home recently.

With a history dating back to 1630, Kampung Luar Batang, located in the Penjaringan district, is known to be the oldest neighborhood in Jakarta. Residents generally believe that the neighborhood was first formed when Habib Husein bin Abu Bakr bin Abdillah al-Aydarus migrated to the area to preach Islam. As al-Aydarus became increasingly popular due to his teachings, more and more residents began to occupy the area.

The neighborhood is also home to the Luar Batang Mosque, one of the oldest mosques in Jakarta and thus considered by many to be a significant cultural site.

Dasim argued that residents living in the area were in fact the descendants of those who lived in the neighborhood when it had first been established. Thus, he said, they are the rightful owners of the land and their homes despite lack of documentation. While some residents possess land certificates, others still hold outdated documents such as Eigendom Verponding (proof of property ownership) and girik (customary land appointment).

Dasim said that residents refused to be evicted and relocated, even with compensation, and emphasized that residents had sought legal support to fight the eviction. “This neighborhood has been occupied by these families from generation to generation. Most residents who live here are either fishermen or dock workers. What are we going to do if we are relocated far from the sea?” he said.

Another resident, Vera Octaviana, said that since the warning letter was delivered last Thursday, the water had been cut off at residents’ homes. Thus, she said, residents had been forced to carry buckets of water for their daily needs back and forth from public toilets, locally known as MCK, which often run out of water.

“The city administration is attempting to force us out of our homes by cutting off our water. It’s not fair,” Vera said.

Penjaringan district head Abdul Khalit said that there would be a total of 478 families in four communities (RW) that would be evicted. He said that the eviction was part of an effort by the city administration to revitalize the slum neighborhoods in the vicinity of the Maritime Museum and Sunda Kelapa harbor.

“We will provide compensation, but only to families whose homes are built on land, not over sea water,” he said, adding that the eviction process would be carried out gradually over the next month.

Housing and Government Buildings Agency head Ika Lestari Aji said that residents would be relocated to low-cost rental apartments at Marunda, Rawa Bebek and Kapuk Muara in North Jakarta as well as in Cipinang Besar Selatan and Pulogebang in East Jakarta.