Heritage buffs hope to re-energize Kota<\/p>\n
Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post\/Jakarta<\/p>\n
Winda Malika Siregar, 25, no longer invites her friends to visit
\nold buildings in downtown Kota, after most of them have bluntly
\nrefused the idea.<\/p>\n
"They mentioned the chronic traffic congestion, the insecure
\nsituation and bad odor of the stagnant, sewage-polluted river as
\ntheir reasons for not coming to Kota," complained the 25-year-old
\nresident of the upmarket Kebayoran Baru residential area in South
\nJakarta.<\/p>\n
"Imagine if Kota were clean and secure and most of heritage
\nsites, such as buildings, here were fully restored, with some
\nconverted into cafes. This area would become a favored hang-out
\nplace for the young," she added.<\/p>\n
Many Jakartans, including Winda, are dreaming of a day when
\nKota can return to its role as the center of business, sleek
\nresidences, cultural activities and even tourism, as it was
\nduring the Dutch administration's heyday.<\/p>\n
A group of heritage enthusiasts, who call themselves Jakarta
\nOld Town-Kotaku (JOK), have teamed up to revitalize the
\nhistorical area.<\/p>\n
Kota is currently notorious for its poorly maintained antique
\nbuildings, traffic nightmares, recurrent flooding, on-street
\nparking problems, ubiquitous street vendors clogging the roads
\nand the main river polluted with waste.<\/p>\n
"After five years of preparations, we are ready to see our
\ndream materialize (to revitalize the old town)," said JOK deputy
\nchairwoman Shanti Lasminingsih Poesposoetjipto.<\/p>\n
She said that JOK had garnered support from officials
\nin the Jakarta administration, the owners of the old buildings,
\nartists, architects, businesspeople and heritage buffs to work
\ntogether to make the program a success.<\/p>\n
JOK will officially mark the launching of a program to
\nrevitalize the old town in a ceremony to be held on Sunday, Dec.
\n12 at the original Bank Indonesia (BI) building adjacent to Kota
\nrailway station.<\/p>\n
The ceremony, with foreign ambassadors, city officials and
\nheritage lovers on hand, will also be enlivened by the Vienna
\nChamber Orchestra.<\/p>\n
During the ceremony, Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso is scheduled to
\nannounce a new group of civil servants, who will regularly ply
\nthe Kali Besar river on bamboo rafts to clean it up.<\/p>\n
The JOK chairwoman Miranda S. Goeltom, who is also BI's Senior
\nDeputy Governor, emphasized that the river clean-up program would
\nbe funded by a Rp 100 million donation from Hong Kong Shanghai
\nBanking Corporation (HSBC), and would hopefully improve the
\nenvironmental quality in the area.<\/p>\n
"The effort to revive Kota will be meaningless without
\nimproving the existing poor conditions of the environment such as
\nthe sewage system, security, the parking system and water supply.
\nThose factors are necessary to attract people to come here and
\nopen businesses," she said.<\/p>\n
BI, which owns one of the heritage buildings in the area, will
\nrestore its colonial-era building and convert it into a museum,
\nwhile some parts of the building will be converted into a fine
\ndining restaurant and cafe.<\/p>\n
"Hopefully, by mid 2007, the new museum will be operational
\nand open to the public," an official with BI, Ishadhi, said.<\/p>\n
Another owner of one of the older buildings, Magdalene Liela
\nUbaidi, said owners were not interested in financial support from
\nthe administration because there were more pressing programs such
\nas poverty and education that should be prioritized.<\/p>\n
"All we need is the administration's support in terms of
\npolicy in the revitalization program. And, let the rest, like
\nfinancing, be carried out by other (private) parties," she said.<\/p>",
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