Conservation of historic building in limbo

JAKARTA (JP): It has been four years since the historic Candra Naya mansion at Jl. Gajah Mada No. 188 in Central Jakarta was abandoned after conservation work stopped in 1997.

The mansion now stands trapped and dwarfed by the towering presence of the half-completed surrounding buildings, on which construction was halted due to the economic crisis.

Naniek Widayati, who chairs the Center for Architecture and Conservation, suggested that the mansion be moved.

"The owner can no longer afford to pay for its maintenance, and the government doesn't have the budget (to maintain the mansion). So I think it would be best for the mansion to be moved to a safer and more proper location," she said during a discussion at the building earlier this week.

Candra Naya was built in the 18th century and is said to be the only building in the country with a pure Chinese architectural style still in its complete original form.

The most famous owner of the building was Major Khow Kim An (1897-1945), the last Chinese community leader in the city in the Dutch East Indies.

After Khow died in a Japanese internment camp, the building was granted to a Chinese social organization, Sin Ming Hui, which used the building and its grounds to provide a number of services and community activities, including health care, sports and education.

Several schools from the University of Tarumanagara were also initially located in the mansion and on its grounds.

In 1995, despite public and media criticism, the Modern Group built a hotel, apartment and shopping complex on the 1.1-hectare grounds of the Candra Naya.

The back section of the mansion, as well as the left and right sides, were demolished. The 2,000-square-meter main building still remains but is surrounded by tall towers, giving the impression that the towers straddle the old mansion.

But two years later, when the economic crisis hit the country, the development of the complex was halted and the new buildings, as well as Candra Naya, were left abandoned.

According to Naniek, there have been a number of investors who have expressed interest in purchasing the complex.

"But the problem is the Candra Naya building. They (prospective buyers) are confused about what to do with the building.

"Therefore, if the building is not moved who will fund the maintenance?" she said.

Meanwhile, cultural expert Wastu Pragantha Zhong opposed Naniek's proposal, saying that moving the building would cause it damage.

"It would be difficult to move the building. Besides, we shouldn't see the building as a mere object because it also has a soul," Zhong said.

It would be best, he said, for the mansion to be turned into a monument or a museum, such as a Chinese cultural museum, an idea earlier suggested by President Abdurrahman Wahid.

"All of us should consider the fate of the building," Zhong asserted. (hdn)