Guarding the Land

KOMPAS/BENEDIKTUS KRISNA YOGATAMA

A house on Jalan Brawijaya, South Jakarta that was targeted by the land mafia, was seen on Thursday (25/3/2021).

The fate of the victims of the land mafias in this country has not been good. Not only have they lost their assets but they are also victims who have had strokes and even lost their lives.

For most Indonesians, land is everything. The land and buildings that stand on it are sometimes the only assets that have been seriously accumulated. The value is also very large in their investment portfolio as many residents leave their land and houses to their children and grandchildren.

The large value of the properties often attract the land mafias. The mafia members not only have evil intentions but are also experts because many of them are old players. Their members include financiers, brokers, notaries or land deed officials (PPAT), employees at district offices, to employees at the National Land Agency (BPN).

Also read: Land Mafias Widely Spread in Jakarta

In a number of cases, their crimes can be exposed, even though it is not always easy to restore control of the land. It can take years for the settlement of cases, with sometimes the rightful landowners dying before their assets are returned.

KOMPAS/BENEDIKTUS KRISNA YOGATAMA

The house belonging to Zurni Hasyim Djalal in Executive Paradise Housing, Cilandak, South Jakarta, which is the target of the land mafia, was seen on Tuesday (25/3/2021).

Are these land mafias a new phenomenon? Obviously not. On Thursday, Feb. 25, 1988, Kompas daily reported a conspiracy to counterfeit land certificates in Bekasi. Two of the six suspects were employees of the Bekasi Agrarian Office. The conspiracy also claimed to have issued 125 fake land certificates.

Three decades have passed, and it turns out that the land mafias stay put. In the 2018-2020 period, the police investigated 44 cases of land mafias. Some time ago, Dino Patti Djalal, a former Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister, also shared his experience with land mafia, who allegedly preyed on property belonging to his mother.

Certificates in physical form of paper are clearly difficult to maintain because they are easy to manipulate.

Looking at the mode of operation of the land mafias, one of the solutions is to accelerate the digitization of land documents, which the government has promised. Certificates in physical form of paper are clearly difficult to maintain because they are easy to manipulate. Not to mention that in this country of the ring of fire, volcanic eruptions, floods, landslides can wipe out physical certificates, thereby complicating the land affairs.

Also read: From Stroke to Death

While accelerating the process of digitizing land documents, it is also good to study the steps of Sweden, which is testing blockchain technology in land affairs. Sweden, in recent years, has tried to implement land ownership registration in blockchain.

Blockchain technology ensures that land ownership records cannot be manipulated. Blockchain technology not secures ownership of property but also facilitates buying and selling in a matter of hours at a low cost.

Kompas/Riza Fathoni

Metro Jaya Regional Police officers reveal the land mafia syndicate at a press conference in Jakarta, Wednesday (12/2/2020).

Times have changed. It is no longer the time to "protect" land or other property assets with physical control, or with a piece of paper with a wet signature. Digitization by applying the latest technology such as blockchain is the solution.

Also read: Strengthening the land bill

(This article was translated by Hyginus Hardoyo).