Untangling the Tangles of Aquarium Village

Kampung Akuarium, Penjaringan, North Jakarta, has recently become the talk of the town. On August 17, 2020, the Governor of DKI Jakarta, Anies Baswedan, laid a stone for the construction of Kampung Susun Akuarium as a symbol of the development of decent housing for residents. The housing development plan has raised a number of questions. Is Anies' action a form of siding with the little people? What are the consequences of this plan for the development of urban planning in Jakarta?

To discuss this issue further, the Populi Forum on Thursday (8/27/2020) raised the theme "Unraveling the Tangle of the Aquarium Village". Present in this discussion were speakers Yayat Supriyatna (Urban Planning Observer, Trisakti), Gilbert Simanjuntak (Member of Commission B of the DKI Jakarta DPRD), and Nurul Fatin Afifah (Researcher at the Populi Center). The discussion, which was held via the Google Meet application, was moderated by Ade Ghozaly (Researcher at the Populi Center).

Member of Commission B of the Jakarta DPRD, Gilbert Simanjuntak, said that the plan to build Kampung Akuarium is not urgent. This is because so far, there has been no study stating whether the arrangement needs to be done or not. In addition, he highlighted the plan of the Jakarta Provincial Government to give the authority to manage Kampung Akuarium through cooperatives to residents. "Because the arrangement is on state land, the state must control it," he said.
Although he did not mention the name of the official explicitly, the PDI Perjuangan (PDIP) politician further touched on the arrangement of Kampung Akuarium with a long-term political agenda at the national level. In the past, he said, there were governors who evicted people, but they were not populist. "Now, the village is being built towards the 2024 presidential election. This must be considered," he added.

Meanwhile, Populi Center Researcher, Nurul Fatin Afifah explained, the development of Kampung Akuarium is very thick with political considerations. This is because Basuki Tjahaja Purnama (BTP) and Anies Baswedan, the last two governors of DKI Jakarta, have different policies regarding the arrangement of housing in the village. "When Anies agreed to a political contract with residents in Kampung Akuarium, Anies won a landslide victory in that area in the 2017 DKI Jakarta gubernatorial election," she said.

In addition, he said, if viewed from the idea aspect, the arrangement of Kampung Akuarium emphasizes the community action plan (CAP). At this point, community participation is the key. However, based on his research findings, he explained, participation is merely a formality. During 12 months, the Kampung Akuarium development consultant only met with residents twice. Ironically, at the second meeting, the consultant came with a completed development concept. "Because it was rejected by residents, the plan was automatically not continued," he said.

Meanwhile, Trisakti City Planning Observer, Yayat Supriyatna, said that determining whether the action of arranging Kampung Akuarium is a violation or not with Regional Regulation (Perda) Number 1 of 2014 concerning the Detailed Spatial Planning (RDTR) is very dependent on how the DKI Jakarta Provincial Government interprets the function of government activities in the regulation. In the regulation, the function of activities ranges from population administration, housing, to fisheries. "If the government wants to support the function of government services in the housing sector, then the flats built are rental flats, not owned," he said.

According to him, political promises are inseparable from the aspirations of the people. However, it must also be related to the development plan. That way, the realization of political promises does not stand alone from the development plan. Therefore, he continued, Bappeda needs to condition area-based development, such as historical areas, economic areas, settlements, and others. "So, an integrated area can be created," he added.