Culture Minister Fadli Zon to Confirm Sardjito House Status

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com — Culture Minister Fadli Zon said that his ministry would ensure the status of the building and other information related to the home of National Hero Prof. Dr. Sardjito in Terban, Yogyakarta, which is being sold by the family.

“Because it is private property, of course we do not have authority over it unless it is designated as a cultural heritage site; we hope someone might be interested in owning it, especially turning it into a public space such as a museum and similar — we will see later,” Fadli said in a catch-up interview in Jakarta on Wednesday.

“Nanti akan kita cek dulu ya kita belum dapat informasi yang utuh,” he added. The house, with a Jengki architectural style, is located not far from the Gadjah Mada University campus and houses historic collections belonging to the national hero.

Diketahui selain mebel atau furnitur, juga tersimpan buku-buku hingga koleksi keris yang tersimpan rapi di dalam rumah yang memiliki luas tanah 1.206 meter persegi dengan luas bangunan 800 meter persegi.

Keterangan: rumah bagian belakang terdapat kantor yang merupakan kantor obat tradisional temuan Sardjito yakni Calcusol.

Sardjito was born in Purwodadi village, Magetan district, Madiun, East Java, on 13 August 1891; he was one of the founders and the first rector of Universitas Gadjah Mada from 1950-1961. He was also one of the founders of the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) and a pharmacist. He contributed to traditional and modern medicines. He was appointed by the Indonesian government to take over the Pasteur Institute, a Dutch establishment, and became the head of PMI Bandung.

Founded on 9 September 1945, PMI was the first of its kind in Indonesia.