Ahok Reminded Anies to Build an Aquarium Village according to the Rules

Bsuki Tjahja Purnama (Foto: Instagram @basukibtp)

JAKARTA - Basuki Tjahaja Purnama or Ahok said that the arrangement of Kampung Akuarium, Penjaringan, North Jakarta by DKI Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan, should be following the regulations. Namely local regulations (Perda) and the Cultural Heritage Law.

So in the future or during the implementation of construction, there will be no problems. Moreover, Kampung Akuarium is in a cultural heritage area.

"My suggestion is following the regional regulations and the laws on cultural heritage," Ahok told VOI, Jakarta, Monday, August 24.

Then does Anies already have a regional regulation to organize the Aquarium Village? DKI DPRD Commission A member, Gembong Warsono, previously said that this construction violated the rules. It is because this program isn't in the DKI Regional Regulation Number 1 of 2014 concerning Detailed Spatial Planning (RDTR) and Zoning.

Gembong said the location of Kampung Akuarium in the RDTR and Zoning Regulations is a red zone. This means, said Gembong, that the location cannot be used for residential areas. "If we are not alone, who should obey the regulation," said Gembong.

Gembong understands that the construction of residents' houses in Kampung Akuarium was included in the promise of DKI Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan during the 2017 Pilgub campaign.

However, according to Gembong, Anies could not use the pretext of making the residents prosperous by building settlements on land that was not his intended use.

"I mean, not because you fulfill your campaign promise, then you could break the rules. If Mr. Anies argues that he wants to raise the dignity of the residents of Jakarta Kampung Akuarium into proper housing for them, that's not the place," he explained.

The Kampung Akuarium is known as one of the slum areas on the north coast of Jakarta. This area was evicted by Ahok when he was Governor of DKI Jakarta.

The reason was that Ahok wanted to build a sheet pile in the area, near the Baharai Museum and Fish Market. Besides, Ahok also had to create a dike to prevent seawater.

In April 2016, Ahok began to evict the area. However, in the process, the DKI Jakarta Provincial Government found a fortress from the Dutch. 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. The former minister of education during the 2017 DKI Jakarta Regional Election campaign made this promise.

January 2018, Anies fulfilled his promise by building three shelter blocks for the residents of Kampung Akuarium. It took four months to complete the construction.

After building the shelter, Anies continued to create 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 IDR 62 billion. Sarjoko said that the construction costs came from PT Almaron's (private) developer liability fund. 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 IDR 62 billion. Later we will calculate whether these funds can fulfill the need for the block (flats)," said Sarjoko.

The residential development with the concept of four-level flats has five 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 types, two blocks of 50 units, two blocks of 48 units. Then one of the blocks at the end is approximately 33 units," said Sarjoko.