Betawi folk await law to preserve culture
Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Hopes are running high among Betawi people (native Jakartans) for a draft bylaw that seeks to convert the Srengseng Sawah subdistrict in South Jakarta into a Betawi cultural village.
"We hope the new measure will succeed in preserving Betawi culture with better cooperation from the Jakarta administration and residents there," Biem Triani Benyamin of the Betawi Culture Institute (LKB) told The Jakarta Post over the weekend.
Biem was asked to comment on the draft bylaw now being deliberated by the City Council, which, if endorsed, would turn Srengseng Sawah subdistrict into the city's new Betawi culture preservation village.
Under the draft bylaw, all buildings, including houses, shops and offices situated in the designated area of 165 hectares must use Betawi architecture and motifs.
It also mandates the Jakarta governor to issue ancillary decrees on certain types of buildings that can be constructed in the area.
Any violation of the ruling is punishable by six months jail or a Rp 5 million fine.
Biem said that he has high hopes for the administration of Governor Sutiyoso, who has supported renovation projects made by owners of Betawi traditional houses in the Srengseng Sawah subdistrict.
"I observe that the administration has made progress, for instance, in providing free of charge fences and window frames with Betawi motifs to owners of Betawi traditional houses there," said Biem, a member of the Regional Representatives Council (DPD) representing Jakarta.
He said that the regional autonomy law has given greater leeway for the Jakarta administration to develop "the city's native culture."
The regional autonomy law that took effect in 2001 allows regional administrations to design their own programs, except in areas such as foreign policy, national defense and finance.
Noted author of various books and plays about Betawi culture, S.M. Ardan, also welcomed the draft, but reminded people that law enforcement would be the key to the project's success.
"We must not become complacent just because we have a good concept or regulation. The most important thing is whether or not it will be implemented with strong commitment," Ardan told the Post.
He feared that the program to develop the new Betawi village would be doomed to fail without strong commitment from the city administration, as happened to similar Betawi cultural preservation projects in Condet, East Jakarta and Kemayoran, Central Jakarta.
Condet and Kemayoran were declared preservation villages for Betawi culture by former Jakarta governor Ali Sadikin in the 1970s. Unfortunately, the projects have failed partly due to the administration's poor control on physical development in those areas. Many buildings using non-Betawi architecture have since been built there.
The administration said that the new Betawi village would become a cultural attraction for both local and foreign tourists since the draft bylaw also opens the possibility for business people to take part in developing the area.
Businesses that could be developed there include small industries, agriculture, farming and tourism.
Presently, some 3,000 people reside in the area of the proposed conservation village.