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Critics slam Anies' decision to form agency on reclamation project
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Last Thursday, after leading an operation to seal 932 buildings that lacked construction permits (IMB) on Islet D, Anies said the special agency should be formed to comply with Presidential Decree No. 52/1995 and related Jakarta regulations. (Antara/Dhemas Reviyanto)
T
he Jakarta administration’s decision to form a special agency that would manage reclamation activities in the Jakarta Bay, was promptly met with criticism for contradicting Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan’s promise to stop the multimillion dollar project.
Anies issued on June 4 Gubernatorial Regulation No. 58/2018 on the establishment of a coordination body to manage the reclamation project in North Jakarta’s coastal area.
The agency, which was formed in accordance with Presidential Decree No. 52/1995 on the reclamation of North Jakarta’s coastal area, is in charge of coordinating, planning, implementing and monitoring the project.
Led by the city secretary, the agency will also be responsible for managing reclaimed islets and giving recommendations about the project to the governor.
Agency members include, among others, heads of the Jakarta Development Planning Board (Bappeda), the Jakarta Spatial Planning Agency and the Investment and One-Stop Integrated Service Agency.
Last Thursday, after leading an operation to seal 932 buildings that lacked construction permits (IMB) on Islet D, Anies said the special agency should be formed to comply with Presidential Decree No. 52/1995 and related Jakarta regulations.
The presidential decree instructed the administration to form special bodies to control and run the reclamation project. “We will comply with prevailing regulations,” Anies said.
The Save Jakarta Bay Coalition (KSTJ) has slammed Anies for forming the agency.
“The way we see it, the city administration formed the agency to continue the reclamation project. The sealing of buildings on Islet D meant nothing as we believe the city administration will legalize the buildings through the agency,” said KSTJ member Tigor Hutapea, who is also deputy head of the People’s Coalition for Fish-
eries Justice (KIARA).
Tigor claimed that Presidential Decree No. 52/1995 instructed the establishment of special agencies to pave the way for reclamation activities.
In 2009, the city administration under former Jakarta governor Fauzi Bowo formed a temporary agency to manage the reclamation project.
The team was disbanded by former governor Djarot Saiful Hidayat in 2017, citing concerns that the agency was ineffective.
KSJT criticized Anies, who promised to stop the project as part of his campaign platform, for creating a similar agency.
The newly issued regulation states that the move to dismiss the previous body had affected the management of the reclamation project, and so an ad hoc agency was needed to accelerate the endeavour as regulated by the
presidential decree.
Tigor went on to say that Anies’ move to seal illegal buildings on Islet D did not prove his commitment to stopping reclamation activities as the previous administration had done the very same thing twice.
Then-Jakarta governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama sealed the buildings in 2014 and 2016, yet they and their supporting facilities remained intact.
The coalition urged Anies to demolish the buildings on Islet D and rehabilitate the area, which had been damaged by the reclamation project.
City Council member Jhonny Simanjuntak from the Indonesia Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) faction echoed the statement, saying, “The regulation shows Anies’ inconsistency in fulfilling his promise to stop the
reclamation.”
