"The law ensures that no island can be sold. What is possible is that the island may have been leased," Baldan said.Mataram, W Nusa Tenggara (ANTARA News) - Agrarian and Spatial Layout Minister Ferry Musyidan Baldan has denied an allegation that an island in West Nusa Tenggara province has been sold to a foreign party.
"The law ensures that no island can be sold. What is possible is that the island may have been leased," Baldan, who is also the chief of the National Land Agency (BPN), said here on Saturday.
If an island is sold to a foreign party, the public can report it to the Agrarian and Spatial Layout Ministry, he said.
"If it (the sale of island) is true, report it to me in a week and I will cancel it," he said.
Under the law, an island can be leased under the management of the concerned regional government and private party, he said.
No private party is allowed to hire an island exclusively and must provide 30-40 percent of the island for public space, he said.
He said regional governments and private parties are only allowed to manage islands for a certain period of time.
The website, "http://m.eramuslim.com/", had earlier carried a story titled, "Chinese Singaporean controls an island in West Nusa Tenggara, 115 indigenous families are evicted from their homes."(*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
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