Owned By Foreigners, Mataram City Government Delays Buying Historic Buildings From Former Dutch Banks

The Mataram City Government, West Nusa Tenggara Province, has postponed the purchase of a historic old building of the former Dutch Government Bank (Nederlandsch Indische Handelsbank) located in the former Ampenan Beach Port area.

"The postponement of the purchase of the building is due to the constraint of property rights to the historic building. Even though we have prepared a budget of Rp. 9 billion," said Mataram City Regional Secretary (Sekda) Lalu Alwan Basri in Mataram, Antara, Monday, October 21.

According to him, the city government has conducted a search related to the ownership documents of the Dutch Bank building on Ampenan Beach which involved the National Land Agency (BPN) of Mataram City.

"From the results, it turns out that the fact that the building owner is a foreign citizen (WNA) was found," he said.

In accordance with the provisions, the government cannot buy buildings owned by foreigners. Therefore, the city government is still waiting for further processing as clarity on the status of the building.

With the postponement of the historic purchase, the Rp9 billion budget allocated at the Tourism Office to purchase the building was withdrawn and transferred to other activities.

"We will divert the Rp9 billion budget for other land acquisition, such as to accommodate the proposal of the Mataram City Regional General Hospital (RSUD) for the expansion of the ER, parking lots and construction of shelters. From coordination with the Mataram City Hospital, they need additional facilities to improve services," he said.

Previously, the former Dutch bank building would become a museum to maintain historical value and become a legacy and educational for future generations.

"Jadi berbagai benda sejarah berkaitan dengan pelabuhan serta kegiatan sosial masyarakat tempo dulu akan ditampilkan agar bisa menjadi warisan bagi generasi yang akan datang," katanya.

"So various historical objects related to ports and social activities of the community at the time will be displayed so that it can become a legacy for future generations," he said.