Old buildings in Padang in danger of disappearing<\/p>\n
Imran Rusli, The Jakarta Post, Padang, West Sumatra<\/p>\n
The West Sumatra public works office and several office buildings
\nwere located near the port, in addition to a building with thick
\nand high walls that was a military warehouse and was never idle.<\/p>\n
Near the estuary, on the banks of Batang Arau River, a large
\nbuilding owned by Nederlandsch Handels Maatsschappij (NHM) stood
\ntough. Various private companies, insurance companies and banks
\nmostly, were located in the NHM building. Since the early 20th
\ncentury, large companies like Houten Steffan, Guntzel &
\nSchumacher, Veth, Geo Wehry, Jacobson van den Berg, Tels & Co.,
\nInternatio and others were located near the building.<\/p>\n
There was a small square with a beautiful park in the
\nvicinity. In De Greve Square stood a small monument to
\ncommemorate De Greve, founder of the Ombilin coal mine, near
\nSawahlunto.<\/p>\n
These were the glimpses of Padang city in the early 20th
\ncentury. The city was bustling during this period, being both a
\ntrade center and also functioning as a Dutch military stronghold
\nin Sumatra.<\/p>\n
Besides housing military barracks and storehouses for such
\nproducts as coffee, nutmeg and cloves, Padang was once also
\ncrammed with the offices of well-known private firms like Geo
\nWehry and Jacobson van den Berg. Now these once busy buildings
\nhave become dilapidated and abandoned.<\/p>\n
Many of the buildings have been left neglected, others have
\nbeen rented out by their owners -- state-owned export and import
\ncompanies Tjipta Niaga and Pantja Niaga.<\/p>\n
The Minang Heritage Society records 74 old buildings in Padang
\nthat are protected by Law No. 5\/1992 on heritage sites and
\nhistoric buildings.<\/p>\n
That number is still small compared to the number of historic
\nobjects in Padang that deserve to be protected, said Rika Cheris,
\na former executive director of the West Sumatra Heritage Society
\nwho is also one of the founders of the Minang Heritage Society.<\/p>\n
\"Probably, the government has intentionally left some of the
\nobjects unprotected so they could be sold to the private sector,\"
\nshe said.<\/p>\n
Sri Setyawati, a lecturer in the Department of Anthropology at
\nAndalas University and a cofounder of the Minang Heritage
\nSociety, expressed the same concern.<\/p>\n
Concern for Padang's heritage really began in earnest several
\nyears back, particularly after the provincial government, the
\nPadang municipality and state-owned companies in Jakarta, began
\nto sell off several of their old buildings to the private sector.<\/p>\n
One social organization in Padang, for example, determined to
\nacquire the Himpunan Bersatu Teguh (HBT) building, which it had
\nlong occupied, from the government, which tried to sell it to the
\norganization.<\/p>\n
The HBT building swap, also involving a sports hall on Jl. H.
\nAgus Salim, will be officially signed by the government and the
\nsocial organization in May. Besides that, several historic
\nbuildings at Muara Port have also been sold to the private
\nsector.<\/p>\n
While there were no objections if the government wanted to
\nrenovate the buildings, problems did arise when the government
\ntore down Padangsch Warenhuis, located behind Wisma Penyalur, and
\nconstructed a new building on the land.<\/p>\n
Even though Firman Dalil MTP, head of the Padang City Planning
\nOffice, said Padangsh Warenhuis was not classified as a historic
\nbuilding and therefore was not protected, there was a public
\noutcry over its destruction.<\/p>\n
\"From the architecture alone, the building was unquestionably
\ncategorized as historic and protected,\" said Rika.<\/p>\n
There are few public records of the building, but according to
\nMaimunah, 90, the building was formerly the biggest store in
\nPadang.<\/p>\n
\"Officials, employees and Dutch girls used to shop there all
\nthe time,\" said Maimunah. The former translator and Dutch
\nlanguage teacher just shook her head when told that the
\nmunicipality claimed it was not a historic building.<\/p>\n
\"The building was there before the 20th century. How come it
\nis not a historic building?\" she asked.<\/p>\n
But such complaints rarely have an effect. Old buildings in
\nPadang continue to be torn down and replaced by modern
\nstructures. The heritage society is concerned that if this
\ncontinues, \"Old Padang\" will fade into history.<\/p>",
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