According To Observers, The Housing In Kampung Akuarium Has The Potential To Be Evicted Again After Anies Stepped Down

JAKARTA - The DKI Provincial Government has begun building housing in Kampung Akuarium, Penjaringan, North Jakarta. Responding to this, a public policy observer from Trisakti University, Trubus Rahadiansyah, thought that the settlement had the potential to be leveled again.

This is because, said Trubus, the land used for the construction of flats in the Kampung Akuarium area violates Regional Regulation No.1 of 2014 concerning Detailed and Spatial Planning (RDTR) and Zoning.

In this regulation, the Kampung Akuarium area is above the red zone land or the government zone. According to Trubus, if the leadership of DKI changes, the next governor may relocate residents from Kampung Akuarium on the grounds that land is not designated for housing.

"It violates the RDTR local regulation because there is a red line. Residents have to be careful because there is a possibility that if they change the governor, the settlements there can be evicted again. Residents must be able to think about that," Trubus said when contacted, Saturday, August 22.

Trubus thought Anies should not have built another settlement from scratch. This is because former DKI Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, in 2016, had provided a flat in Rawa Bebek, East Jakarta, for residents of Kampung Akuarium.

"Many of the flats that have been built are still empty. So, in my opinion, not there again. Moved to an appropriate place. In the Aquarium Village there are archaeological sites. Do not let the existence of settlements destroy these sites," explained Trubus.

Furthermore, Trubus assessed that the arrangement of the area was nothing more than an image of Anies Baswedan so that it would not appear noted in the eyes of the constituents. This is because Anies promised to build the area during the 2017 DKI Jakarta Regional Election campaign.

"The construction of a house in Kampung Akuarium is just an image. That was a political promise first. In fact, there was a violation of the rules. In my opinion, whatever the excuse is, residents should not be proud. Don't trust too much political promises," said Trubus.

Previously, Kampung Akuarium was known as one of the slum areas on the north coast of Jakarta. This area was evicted by Basuki Tjahja Purnama alias Ahok when he was Governor of DKI Jakarta.

The reason was, Ahok wanted to build a sheetpile in the area, near the Baharai Museum and Fish Market. In addition, Ahok also had to build a dike to prevent seawater.

In April 2016, Ahok began to evict the area. However, in the process, the DKI Jakarta Provincial Government discovered a Dutch heritage fortress. Seeing that, Ahok has the desire to restore this cultural heritage.

Ahok's initial plan, which wanted to rearrange the Kampung Akuarium area, was hampered by the discovery of the Dutch heritage fort. The project was neglected, even though some residents had been relocated to Marunda and Rawa Bebek flats.

However, residents returned after Anies Baswedan promised to rebuild a permanent house in Kampung Akuarium. This promise was made by the former minister of education during the 2017 DKI Jakarta Regional Election campaign.

January 2018, Anies fulfilled his promise by building three shelter blocks for the residents of Kampung Akuarium. After building the shelter, Anies continued by building a more permanent shelter under the slum management program.

Acting Head of the Housing and Settlement Area Service, Sarjoko, said that the arrangement of this village cost Rp. 62 billion. Sarjoko said that the construction costs came from PT Almaron Perkasa's (private) developer funds. The development of this village uses a conversion scheme by the holders of space utilization permits.

"This is the developer's obligation, the budget is approximately Rp. 62 billion. Later we will calculate whether the need for the block (flats) can be met with these funds," said Sarjoko.

The residential development with the concept of four-level flats has 5 blocks. In total, there are 240 housing units with a type of 27 square meters per unit of the 10 hectare land.

"The numbers of each unit are not the same, there are two typical, two blocks of 50 units, two blocks of 48 units typical. Then one of the blocks at the end is approximately 33 units," said Sarjoko.