Don't spoil Condet

Don't spoil Condet

From Merdeka

Although I'm not originally from Condet, as a longtime
resident of Jakarta, I sympathize with Condet's plight which has
resurfaced and become a hot topic after the word spread that the
Jakarta administration intended to buy up the area.

Undoubtedly, the administration's plan falls in line with our
hopes of maintaining the Condet region as a cultural reserve in
Jakarta. It is clear that the culture of Condet should be kept
alive. It should be maintained forever, since its value is
priceless.

This should also be taken into consideration by the
authorities who govern Jakarta. There is nothing left to be proud
of in terms of the culture and nature of Jakarta except for
Condet, which has established a reputation for its exotic fruits
such as dukuh, salak and also the Betawi culture.

It has to be admitted that the city administration's plan has
been accepted by Condet people with fear and mixed feelings.
It could be just an appropriation scheme by the regional
government to uproot Condet people from the land of their
forebears. Concrete proof of this can be observed from the
mushrooming of new housing estates and new settlers who are
living far better than the original people of Condet.

New settlers, in particular, have built homes in the cultural
reserve area which was established in former governor Ali
Sadikin's days.

It is hard to imagine what would happen to Condet if it was
not controlled and taken care of. The region might just vanish
from the Jakarta region.

A name might be left, remembered by an older generation, but
forgotten by the next.

Therefore, I would like to suggest that the Jakarta
administration seriously start to take care and protect Condet
from the new settlers since it could mean the destruction of the
cultural reserve.

FRANS DS

Jakarta