Menteng long the swanky part of town<\/p>\n
By Ida Indawati Khouw<\/p>\n
Well-planned Menteng was the desired place to live for Dutch
\ncolonists and a few fortunate Indonesians during the early 1900s.
\nWhile urban sprawl has taken over present day Jakarta, a Menteng
\naddress is still a reason for pride. This is the 79th article in
\nour series on life in old Batavia.<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Businesswoman Shanti L. Poesposoetjipto, 53,
\ncounts herself lucky as someone who grew up in Menteng.<\/p>\n
Its beautiful suburbs featuring spacious homes and gardens
\ndesigned by Dutch architects in the early 1900s were the ideal
\nplayground for the young.<\/p>\n
Shanti regrets that times have changed for today's kids.<\/p>\n
\"I don't think that Jakarta's children now have the privilege
\nI had, of playing in open spaces next to our houses without the
\nthreat of heavy traffic or air pollution.\"<\/p>\n
In the 1950s and 1960s, local children made the area's streets
\ninto their own private roller-skating rink.<\/p>\n
\"The skaters were divided into gangs, such as children of Jl.
\nSubang, Jl. Imam Bonjol, Jl. Gresik and others, and all of us
\nthen met at a certain point, usually Jl. Cokroaminoto,\" she said.<\/p>\n
She recalled that Taman Suropati, one of many parks in the
\nplush area, was the site where the Association of Djakarta
\nStudents (Imada) held regular roller-skating competitions.<\/p>\n
Tropical gardens dotted with large trees were everywhere, in
\nkeeping with the Dutch design of a \"garden city\". In their center
\nwere the distinctive Menteng-style houses, specially designed for
\nthe tropics, with high ceilings, big windows and good
\nventilation.<\/p>\n
\"We usually hid in one of the gardens of a house when we
\nplayed hide and seek and searched for our friends by bike. So,
\nour playground was huge, as also the houses were without fences.\"<\/p>\n
Menteng -- a district bordered by Jl. MH Thamrin in the west,
\nJl. Wahid Hasyim in the north, Jl. Cikini in the east and Jl.
\nLatuharhari in the south -- is today still known as a favorite
\nresidential area for public figures.<\/p>\n
But during the Dutch era, there were very few Indonesians like
\nShanti's father, shipping magnate Soedarpo Sastrosatomo, who
\ncould afford to live in the area.<\/p>\n
The heaven for the Dutch turned into a hell when the Japanese
\narrived at the height of World War Two in 1942, with the latter
\nforcing them out of their comfortable homes and into the squalor
\nof internment camps.<\/p>\n
One who experienced the era was designer Iwan Tirta, 66, whose
\nfamily moved to Mampangweg (now Jl. Teuku Cik Ditiro) in late
\n1942.<\/p>\n
He said the area had become a ghost town. \"Houses were just
\nleft empty, so one of my games was playing around the empty
\nhouses,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Some houses were appropriated by the Japanese, and the empty
\nhouses were then taken care of by the city housing agency where
\nIndonesians could obtain the popularly known VB (Vestigings
\nBewijs, the living permit) to reside in them.<\/p>\n
According to Iwan, there were only two Indonesians living near
\nhis house, the family of Soepomo, one of the country's founding
\nfathers, who lived on Javaweg (now Jl. Cokroaminoto) and Dr. Kan,
\na rich physician who lived on Heutszboulevard (now Jl. Teuku
\nUmar).<\/p>\n
The Dutch were scattered to several internment camps in the
\ncountry, including one in Menteng straddling Jl. Lembang, Jl.
\nLembang Terusan and Jl. Cirebon, and also around Jl. Teuku Cik
\nDitiro and Jl. Madiun.<\/p>\n
Harsh<\/p>\n
They experienced harsh treatment, lack of medical care and
\npoor food, Iwan remembered. \"The camps were encircled by plaited-
\nbamboo fences with barbed wire,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Iwan recalled that former servants of the Dutch sometimes
\ntried to pass food to them through the fences.<\/p>\n
Some of the Dutch entrusted their valuables to their
\nIndonesian friends. \"Our family, for example, was entrusted with
\na grand piano that was taken back when the Dutch friends returned
\nto their country,\" Iwan said.<\/p>\n
To save their houses from being taken by the Japanese, some of
\nthe Dutch offered their homes to Indonesian friends, which was
\nthe experience of the family of the late Sjarifah Nawawi, mother
\nof businesswoman Mien Soedarpo, 77.<\/p>\n
\"We were offered the house of noted Dutch figure de Riemer on
\nJl. Pegangsaan Barat by his widow. After some negotiations with
\nthe Japanese, we then occupied the main building while the de
\nRiemer family was in the pavilion next door,\" Mien said, adding
\nthat the Dutch family name was taken as street name de Riemer
\nLaan (now Jl. Tanah Abang III in Central Jakarta).<\/p>\n
Unlike many other old Menteng houses which have been renovated
\nover the years, the Indische Woonhuizen (Indies Residences) style
\nhouse of the Nawawis is still preserved by the owner.<\/p>\n
But Menteng was transformed when new houses were built lacking
\narchitectural merit and not harmonious with the environment;
\nthere was also the hustle and bustle of traffic.<\/p>\n
Jakarta historian Adolf Heuken said that about 50 percent of
\nMenteng houses were \"damaged\" as the result of various \"dirty\"
\ndeeds by Jakarta administration officials, like breaches of the
\n1975 gubernatorial decree designating Menteng an area for
\npreservation.<\/p>\n
The origin of the area's name is still unclear. Jakarta: A
\nHistory author Susan Abeyasekere believes Menteng was derived
\nfrom the estate first owner van Muntinghe, a prominent colonial
\nofficial in the early 19th century.<\/p>\n
But Heuken disagreed, saying that the name was recorded from
\nthe 18th century. He surmised that it derived from spruitje
\nMenting, meaning small river Menting that began from the back
\npart of the present Kuningan soccer field.<\/p>\n
\"The small river flowed through the western part of Menteng
\narea,\" Heuken said, adding that another version said that it
\nderived from the Menteng fruit (baccaurea racenosa) which were
\ncultivated in the area because of their natural abundance.<\/p>\n
It was common during the time of the Dutch East Indies Company
\n(which was dissolved in 1799 due to bankruptcy) that people could
\nobtain an estate by making a large purchase.<\/p>\n
Menteng was started as a housing complex for the haves in 1908
\nwhen the estate was purchased by real estate company De
\nBouwploeg, whose office was at the site currently occupied by the
\nCut Mutiah mosque.<\/p>\n
Menteng and nearby Gondangdia were chosen because the area was
\nlocated immediately adjacent to Weltevreden (the present Gambir
\narea), which had become the new city of Batavia after the old one
\nin Kota was razed in 1808 due to its unhealthy environment.<\/p>\n
Several plans were made for Menteng. The first was by P.A.J.
\nMoojen (1879-1955), who designed the road network for the
\ntuinstad (the garden city).<\/p>\n
Moojen's planning, which was centered on a large field
\npreviously located at the intersection of Jl. Cokroaminoto, Jl.
\nSutan Syahrir and Jl Moh. Yamin today, was unduly complex.<\/p>\n
A new plan was made by F.J. Kubatz, assisted by J.F. van
\nHoytema, F.J.L. Ghijsels and H. von Essen.<\/p>\n
But Menteng's development meant that indigenous people were
\nforced off their land without compensation. The policy of
\nevicting the native people in order to open new residential areas
\nfor Europeans was denounced by Sarekat Islam (Union of Islam),
\nthe first great nationalist party, founded on the issues of Islam
\nand trade.<\/p>\n
It was only with the Dutch departure in the 1950s that the
\nresidential area became truly Indonesian again.<\/p>",
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