JAKARTA: A disputed plot of land that housed former Malaysian Ambassador's official residence at No 48, Jalan Kemang Raya, Jakarta was returned to Malaysia by the Indonesian government.

South Jakarta Mayor Shahrul Effendi who handed the letter to Malaysian Embassy's deputy chief of Mission Amran Mohamed Zin said the Indonesian government had cleared the site of illegal settlers.

Shahrul said the land was handed back to Malaysia after the Indonesian Supreme Court had ruled that the land belonged to the Malaysian government.

The Malaysian Embassy had been involved in a 12-year court battle to regain the 4,950 sq m land that was bought in 1971 by the Malaysian government from its owner Rumphus Erwin Sondakh, to house the official residence of the Malaysian Ambassador to Indonesia.

However, in 1982, the former Malaysian Ambassador the late Tan Sri Mohamed

Rahmat had vacated the house and stationed security guards to look after the house.

Sixteen years later when there was a political crisis and reformation in 1998, an Indonesian by the name of Frederik Matheus Pietersz, had led a group of people and encroached on the land, setting up illegal settlements that were later demolished by the authorities after the court ruling.

Pietersz later sold the land to another Indonesian, Mulyo Setiawan and the Badan Pertanahan Nasional (BPN) Indonesia had issued a land ownership certificate to Mulyo.

However, when BPN nullified the ownership, Mulyo filed a claim in court but was rejected on Aug 10, 1999 but Mulyo made an appeal to the High Court, which accepted his application.

The Malaysian Embassy then made an appeal at the Supreme Court (Indonesia), which accepted the application on Feb 13, 2001, but the matter was not closed as Mulyo once again made an appeal for the court to review the decision and on Oct 26, 2004, the Supreme Court ruled that the land belonged to the Malaysian Embassy.

Mulyo however, continued to house his people at the site until the latest demolition was carried out. -- Bernama
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