Council waives plan to relocate heirloom flag
Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta
It's not an issue of patriotism. The amount of money budgeted to move Bendera Pusaka (heirloom flag) from the State Palace to the National Monument (Monas) is just too steep, say Jakarta councillors.
The city administration proposed the allocation of Rp 3 billion (US$300,000) for the plan, which was expected to start next year.
But City Council Commission E for education, health and people's welfare said that such a huge amount of money could be used to finance more important programs.
"We agree to place the flag in Monas, but not with such a huge budget," said Commission E chairman Dani Anwar while inspecting the independence room, which will be used to house the heirloom flag.
Members of Commission E visited the independence room on Thursday to check the details of the project, which was introduced by head of the City Culture and Museum Agency Aurora Tambunan during a hearing with the commission on Monday.
The flag was hoisted on the country's first Independence Day on Aug. 17, 1945 and was sewn by then first lady Fatmawati, the wife of founding president Soekarno.
According to Dani, Commission E would consider approving the allocation of the fund in the city budget for 2006 for the flag relocation project as long as it would not need too much money.
"Our rejection has nothing to do with our respect for our heirloom flag. It's simply that we do not want to spend that much money," said Dani, who was supported by other members of the commission.
During Monday's hearing, an official of the Jakarta Development Planning Board said that the plan to move the flag was part of preparations for the Independence Day commemoration in 2006.
The flag-hoisting ceremony on Independence Day has always been held at the State Palace.
The city had initially allocated Rp 8 billion for the project, but the figure was revised downward after recalculation. The 2006 draft budget is now being deliberated by city councillors.
Responding to the councillors' opposition, Aurora said she could understand the arguments of the councillors. She said that she would report the opposition of Commission E to Governor Sutiyoso.
Aurora said that the money would be used to preserve the flag, prepare the place for the flag in the independence room, lightening and a security system.
The administration also attempted to move the flag to Monas in 2003, but the plan was dropped after strong criticism from both city councillors and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) over the high cost.