Restoring Losari Beach to its former glory<\/p>\n
By Hasanuddin Hamid<\/p>\n
MAKASSAR, South Sulawesi (JP): There have been quite a few
\nstories told about the beauty of Losari Beach. For example,
\nfilmmaker Djamaluddin Effendy, in 1975, brought the beach to the
\nwide screen in Senja di Pantai Losari (Twilight at Losari Beach)
\nstarring, among others, Emilia Contessa, W.D. Mochtar and a
\nnumber of local actors from Makassar, such as Rahman Arge and
\nUdhiem Palisuri.<\/p>\n
Poet Asia Ramli Prapanca has extolled the virtue of the famed
\nbeach in one of his works titled Ombak Losari (The ripples of
\nLosari).<\/p>\n
An Australian artist authored a play titled Sunset at Losari
\nand staged it in Sydney last year, according to Ishak
\nNgeljaratan, a cultural observer and teacher at the School of
\nLetters at Hasanuddin University, Makassar.<\/p>\n
Failing to experience Losari Beach when visiting Makassar,
\ndubbed Kota Angin Mamiri (windy city) would be a big miss, so
\nlocals say.<\/p>\n
Losari Beach has been facetiously dubbed \"the longest bench in
\nthe world\" because of the scores of food sellers who use the
\ncement embankment as seats for their customers.<\/p>\n
The dominance of food sellers has sparked concern among the
\nlocal administration and the public alike. It is as if the
\ntraders have made the public domain their property. The local
\ngovernment has been working out a plan to regulate business there
\nand restore the beach to its original splendor.<\/p>\n
As Ishak says, the ubiquitous food traders have ruined
\nLosari's famed beauty.<\/p>\n
The unchecked food business has been blamed for widespread
\npollution of the beach.<\/p>\n
Until 10 years ago, the food sellers consisted of only a
\nhandful of hawkers offering pisang ape, sweetened banana, a
\nMakassar specialty. The small-scale business activity became a
\nproblem when the then mayor of Makassar, Suwahyo, allowed
\nhundreds of food vendors to operate at the beach in the 1980s.<\/p>\n
Carts of hundreds of sidewalk-vendors now occupy most of the
\nspace. Pedestrians lost the pavement on which they were
\npreviously able to walk and enjoy the beauty of the beach.<\/p>\n
Makassar city government has decided that something has to be
\ndone to restore Losari Beach. It has teamed up with PT Gowa
\nMakassar Tourism Development (a developer of the famous Tanjung
\nBunga resort). The project aims to provide food vendors with a
\nnew space on Jl. Metro Tanjung Bunga, at the southern end of
\nLosari Beach.<\/p>\n
Tents will be provided along a 52-metre long corridor between
\nLosari and Tanjung Bunga. Water and electricity will also be
\nprovided by the government.<\/p>\n
Tanjung Bunga resort is basically a self-contained township
\nbuilt by PT Gowa Makassar Tourism Development, a consortium of
\nthe Lippo Group, South Sulawesi provincial government, Makassar
\nmayoralty administration and Gowa regency administration.<\/p>\n
The project intends to connect Losari Beach and Tanjung Bunga
\nand place the two resorts under the same management. Relocating
\nthe traders is at the top of their agenda and work began in May.<\/p>\n
The local administration of Makassar has given the 254
\nsidewalk traders until June 15 to move voluntarily. But
\napparently not all of the vendors are happy about the plan. Some
\nhave openly refused to move.<\/p>\n
\"The city government will try to persuade them to move
\nvoluntarily to a new location at Tanjung Baru as their
\nrepresentatives agreed to some time ago,\" said the mayor of
\nMakassar, Baso Amiruddin Maula.<\/p>\n
The city government's ambition is to make Losari Beach a prime
\ntourist destination in the area.<\/p>\n
\"As soon as the (restoration) project is completed, the
\ngovernment will regularly hold various traditional art festivals
\nfor both domestic and foreign tourists and make Losari a source
\nof income\", said Baso Amiruddin Maula.<\/p>\n
Losari originates from the Dutch word logeren meaning to
\nlodge. The residents of Makassarese, who do not speak Dutch,
\nfound it impossible to pronounce logeren and transformed it into
\n\"Losari\".<\/p>\n
During colonial times, the Dutch built barracks by Losari
\nBeach for its army. The place was then named Doorgangskamp, and
\nbecame a place for temporary accommodation for Dutch KNIL
\nsoldiers in the eastern territories such as North Sulawesi and
\nMaluku.<\/p>\n
The beach was the Dutch army's favorite leisure destination.<\/p>\n
During colonial times, Losari Beach was 2.5 kilometers long.
\nNow, due to development activities, it has shortened to only two
\nkilometers stretching from Makassar Golden Hotel to Metro Road,
\nTanjung Bunga.<\/p>",
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