Kebayoran Baru, RI's first housing complex<\/p>\n
By Ida Indawati Khouw<\/p>\n
Living in Kebayoran Baru, South Jakarta, is regarded with
\nparticular pride by many of its residents. However, during its
\nearly years of development, people were reluctant to live there.
\nNow, though, it has now been turned into an elite housing
\ncomplex. This is the 84th article in the Batavia series.<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Living in Kebayoran Baru area remains just a
\ndream for most Jakartans. The area not only offers luxurious
\nhousing but also hang out spots such as malls, hotels, cafes and
\nthe like.<\/p>\n
However, history has shown that Kebayoran Baru needed years
\nbefore developing itself into an \"attractive\" neighborhood. In
\nthe 1950s, it was still an \"unwanted\" living area as it was
\nlocated eight kilometers from the city center, considered quite
\nfar at the time. In addition, road access to the area was
\ninadequate as the housing was built on a plantation.<\/p>\n
Despite all the above reasons, people also remained reluctant
\nto live there as it became a notoriously popular hunting ground
\nfor robbers.<\/p>\n
Long-time resident Budi Sukada, 50, remembered the period,
\nduring which his family's belongings were stolen on numerous
\noccasions.<\/p>\n
\"In our first 10 years here, our belongings were stolen almost
\nevery week. They didn't only take tape-recorders or radios, but
\nalso park lamps and other small things,\" said Budi, who has lived
\non Jl. Lamandau since 1953.<\/p>\n
The architect, who is also active in the Association of
\nIndonesian Architects (IAI), said thieves usually used alleyways,
\nlocated behind each house for the collection of garbage or to buy
\nvegetables from passing vendors, as the popular escape route.<\/p>\n
Mat Item, the leader of a gang of thieves in Kebon Jeruk, West
\nJakarta, was believed to be responsible for much of the unrest.<\/p>\n
Thayeb I. Sabil, 67, said people were very scared of Mat Item.<\/p>\n
\"Mat Item always roamed around on his horse. He would punch
\nanyone who dared to look at him,\" said the senior journalist, who
\nonce lived in a student dormitory at the so-called \"Masyumi
\nkampong\" in Senayan (now the site of the Bung Karno Sports
\nComplex) between 1951 and 1953.<\/p>\n
The gang was then eliminated by the military under the Bala
\nHitam (Black Troops) Battalion.<\/p>\n
Noer Saijidi M. Koesoemo, 64, remembered the area's narrow
\nalleyways when he started to reside in Velbak (previously a
\ngarbage dump called Vuilnisbak) during the early development of
\nthe satellite city.<\/p>\n
\"There were only two small access points, the first was the
\neastern 'entry' from Manggarai, passing the present Mega Kuningan
\nbusiness belt and ending in the Santa area while the second was
\nthe western entry from Tanah Abang passing through Jl. K.S.
\nTubun, Palmerah, Rawa Belong and ending at Velbak.\"<\/p>\n
The limited access brought problems to residents as they found
\nproblems reaching public transportation.<\/p>\n
\"Public buses were very rare, the last one left at 4 p.m.,
\nalong the Lapangan Banteng-Kebayoran Baru route. When I returned
\nhome from afternoon school (on Jl. Budi Utomo) at 8:30 p.m., I
\nhad to hitch a lift from passing private cars,\" said Thayeb.<\/p>\n
Green area<\/p>\n
Kebayoran Baru was just a large plantation mostly with
\nrambutan and durian trees, just like other suburbs here. The area
\nwas part of Meester Cornelis (now Jatinegara in East Jakarta)
\nregency. Many plots of land belonged to landlords.<\/p>\n
The upland area of Kebayoran Baru was allocated by the
\nmunicipal city of Batavia (the old name for Jakarta) in the 1930s
\nas a satellite city to fulfill the housing need.<\/p>\n
The hilly new city - laid out like a human heart, consisted of
\nfour villages: Grogol Oedik, Pelapetogogan, Senayan and Gandaria
\nNoord - was allocated for civil servants and white-collar
\nworkers.<\/p>\n
The first general plan for the satellite city was designed by
\nV.R. van Roermondt, a teacher at the Technical University in
\nBandung. In 1937, the plan was accepted by the municipality but
\nit had to be delayed due to the Second World War.<\/p>\n
\"In 1948, the plan was promoted by the returning Dutch
\nadministration,\" said the book Batavia\/Djakarta\/Jakarta Beeld van
\neen Metamorfose written by M.E. De Vletter, R.P.G.A Voskuil and
\nJ.R. van Diessen.<\/p>\n
But van Roermondt was no longer responsible for the design as
\nan Indonesian city planner M. Soesilo took over the job. The
\nconstruction was organized by the Centrale Stichting van
\nWederopbouw (Central Foundation for Reconstruction), established
\non June 1, 1948.<\/p>\n
After the transfer of sovereignty on Dec. 27, 1949 the project
\nwas taken over by the Ministry of Public Works.<\/p>\n
However, the development was opposed by indigenous residents
\nas their lives relied on the land. Siswantari noted in her study
\nPembangunan Kota Baru Kebayoran Sebagai Kawasan Pemukiman
\nPenduduk: 1948-1953 (The Development of the New City of Kebayoran
\nas a Housing Complex: 1948-1953) that the municipality declined
\nto fulfill its commitment to the local citizens by providing
\ncompensation. So, the people could do nothing but accept the
\ndecision heavyheartedly.<\/p>\n
Noer Saijidi - who during the 1960s worked at the Djawatan
\nPerumahan Rakyat (People's Housing Bureau), which also built
\nhouses in Kebayoran Baru - said the foundation stone was laid at
\nJl. Rambai No. 2 on March 18, 1949.<\/p>\n
The 730-hectare satellite city had to provide 12,500 houses
\nfor 100,000 inhabitants.<\/p>\n
The area was divided into blocks (block A up to block S) and
\neach block was brightly and clearly indicated by a letter.<\/p>\n
Batavia\/Djakarta\/Jakarta said the largest part was aimed at
\nhousing for lower-officials (152 hectares), over 70 hectares were
\nallocated for the middle class and 55 hectares for the high
\nclass. Seventeen hectares were used for shops and markets, 6.6
\nhectares for flats, 118 hectares for parks and 181 hectares for
\nroads.<\/p>\n
Public housing was mostly built in block A, Q and S, middle-
\nclass houses were available in most remaining blocks except G, I,
\nF and K where villas were built, Siswantari said.<\/p>\n
Batavia\/Djakarta\/Jakarta said the design of Kebayoran Baru
\nfollowed the broad outline of garden cities in the Netherlands.<\/p>\n
Despite being quiet, inhabitants enjoyed large gardens and
\nfields everywhere.<\/p>\n
A huge field located at present in the Bulungan area was the
\nfavorite place for Budi Sukada to enjoy afternoons, playing with
\nother children or enjoying food sold by vendors.<\/p>\n
The style of most of the houses and buildings was primarily
\nfunctional.<\/p>\n
\"One which is typical of Kebayoran Baru is what is called
\n'jengki' (Yankee) style. The term was used when (first president)
\nSukarno practised anti-U.S. politics,\" Budi said, referring to
\nthe building style that features many corridors to block out the
\nsunlight.<\/p>\n
The jengki style houses can still be found around Jl.
\nSinabung.<\/p>\n
In many respects Kebayoran Baru holds a particular place in
\nthe development of Jakarta and Indonesian city-building in
\ngeneral. It was the first quarter of the city to be developed
\naccording to a systematic plan during the post-colonial period.<\/p>",
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