City to preserve more old buildings

Tantri Yuliandini, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

While new skyscrapers, shining lights and jam-packed roads may make Jakarta seem a modern metropolis, scratch under the dirt in the city's less fancier parts of town and the city's 478 years are revealed.

To ensure the preservation of the old face of the city, the Jakarta administration will add more than 100 buildings to its list of 132 protected heritage sites next year.

Dwi Martati, certification section head at the Culture and Museum Agency, told The Jakarta Post on Thursday the agency was in the process of finalizing a new list of protected heritage buildings to enlarge on the previous list created by the 1993 Gubernatorial Decree.

"At the time we had complete data on only those 132 sites, while to formalize them as heritage buildings we need comprehensive data, not only their historical value but also age, authenticity, rarity, and architecture," she said, adding that Jakarta had many more heritage buildings that should be protected.

According to the 1993 decree, there are 67 locations in Central Jakarta with heritage buildings, 16 locations in North Jakarta, 35 locations in West Jakarta, and seven locations each in South Jakarta and East Jakarta.

To these, the city administration will add at least 100 more heritage buildings, including an example of 19 Century Chinese architecture, the Toko Kompak building in Pasar Baru, Central Jakarta.

Several houses on Jl. Abdul Rahman Saleh in Central Jakarta will also be included on the new list for having distinct military architecture.

"The houses were once a part of a military housing complex for the Dutch army, that included the Lapangan Banteng, Gunung Sahari and Kwitang areas," Dwi said.

In North Jakarta, the warehouses currently used by textile company Texmaco will also be included on the new list. The warehouses, on Jl. Pakin 4, are the only remaining warehouses from the days of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) in the 17th century.

The post office building on Jl. Matraman Raya 22 in East Jakarta will also make it into the new list. Built in the 1920s by architect J.S. Duyvis in the Modern Indies style, the building was formerly known as the Post en Telegraafkantoor de Meester Cornelis.

The buildings were chosen because of their historical value, their age -- at least 50 years old -- building authenticity, rarity, whether or not they were landmarks, and their architectural qualities.

In consequence, owners of the protected buildings must not change in any way the building's architecture or its environment without consent from the Culture and Museum Agency.

"There are three categories of protected heritage buildings -- A, B, and C -- with A being the most precious and its architecture as a whole must not be changed," Dwi said.

Use of the buildings, such as for social, tourism, education, science, culture, or religious purposes, must also be in coordination with the agency, she said.

While failing to preserve heritage buildings carries a maximum fine of Rp 5 million (US$500) or six months of jail time, the administration does not provide incentives to owners of protected buildings to take care of them.

However, owners can write an appeal to the governor for financial help to take care of protected heritage property, which would then be included in next year's agency budget, Dwi said.

She said that the agency has helped several institutions this way, including the renovation of the University of Indonesia's Faculty of Medicine buildings on Jl. Salemba Raya, Central Jakarta. The buildings, built between 1916 and 1920, were once used by the Geneeskundige Hogeschool medical school.