Historian a voice for preservation cause

Ida Indawati Khouw, Contributor, Jakarta

Adolf Heuken always has the same thing to say when we meet each other: The capital's government, especially the Development Control Agency (P2K), is doing a shoddy job in protecting Jakarta's heritage.

"P2K is brengsek (lousy)," the German Jesuit priest and author of numerous books on the history and heritage of the capital said in a shrill tone.

Now, the complaint concerns his beloved Menteng, an area protected under a 1975 gubernatorial decree. It was the first housing complex built in the early 1900s by the Dutch colonial government. It has been his home for the past 30 years.

Heuken persistently voices the need for enforcement of the law on Menteng as a protected area as it houses unique architectural styles which are being obliterated by the push for more modern structures.

P2K is the city agency that has the authority to control development in the city, but, in his eyes, the agency is not doing its job. Worse, he alleges there are parties in the agency who are contributing to Menteng's deterioration.

"If the agency's officials were not greedy for money and really enforced the law, namely did not issue permits for the demolition of buildings, the condition would not be as poor as it is at present. I see old houses disappear one by one each week. The practice usually starts with neglecting the buildings until they reach a stage of disrepair to make way for their demolition with a permit from P2K."

Heuken estimated that only 30 percent of the old buildings in the area were still preserved.

The 73 year old has no hope that the city administration will save Menteng from further deterioration. According to him, the only way is through a movement involving the residents themselves, focusing on raising their awareness of regulations about Menteng as a preservation area so that the residents can monitor their own area.

The efforts are now exerted by Warga Peduli Bangunan Tua (Concerned Citizens for Old Buildings), an informal forum that watches over the city's heritage.

His "complaints" regarding the poor condition of the heritage of the city as a whole come through in his works on Jakarta, namely the Historical Sites of Jakarta, Menteng Kota Taman Pertama di Indonesia (Menteng, the First Garden City in Indonesia) Galangan Kapal Batavia Selama Tiga Ratus Tahun (Three Hundred Years of Batavia Shipyards) and three volumes of Sumber- Sumber Asli Sejarah Jakarta (the Original Sources of the History of Jakarta).

Indeed, his name is always mentioned by people who are doing research on Jakarta's history. He is especially proud of his little library of two cupboards full of sources related to the city history.

"It is the most complete library on Jakarta's history here," he said, and he worries about what will happen to it when he dies.

"I know the library will be owned by the Jesuit Order but I don't know whether the books will be well maintained."

Heuken experienced difficulties in finding sources and data here when conducting research for his books.

"I had to deal with employees with poor professionalism, such as when searching for books at the National Library. Many times the employees couldn't find books that were even listed in the catalog."

Heuken instead relied on his network abroad so that he could publish his books.

"I make use of my network abroad to get the necessary data, such as asking help from my family in Germany and Portugal and writing letters to libraries in Europe and other places," he said.

The special field of study of the oldest of eight children of elementary school teacher Franz Heuken and his wife Clara was philosophy and theology, but he always harbored a great interest in history.

"I am always curious about the history of the places I visit. Regarding Jakarta, I get annoyed every time I read publications on the history that mostly tell more about tales; they lack data," said the founder of Cipta Loka Caraka Catholic foundation which focuses on moral education.

Jakarta's history is just one of his fields of expertise. Heuken is also a prolific writer of books in several fields of study, such as moral education and Christian spirituality. He is also the author of several encyclopedia, a German-Indonesian dictionary, as well as being a translator.

If all of his works were arranged in line, it would reach three meters in length! It promises to get even longer. He is still busy writing several books, including one about houses of worship in Jakarta -- mosques, churches and Chinese temples -- about the history of the Catholic mission in the archipelago before the Dutch era, Christianity in Indonesia, spirituality and the story of battling cancer.