Historic buildings disappearing from Medan as govt looks other way

Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan

Hendra Arbie had nothing to say when his friend from Malaysia asked him on why several historic buildings on Jl. Kesawan, Medan, were being demolished. The Malaysian said it was a great shame that the old buildings were being destroyed.

After a long silence, Hendra could only say: "Money rules here."

True, the power of money has resulted in many old buildings on Jl. Kesawan be demolished and modern structures erected. The old buildings, which should be protected as they possess historical value, have been replaced by offices and malls.

Three buildings built in the Dutch East Indies days on the famous street are currently being demolished. The demolitions have been going on for several days now despite mounting protests from many quarters.

"We are not anti-development, but development should not damage old buildings. We should preserve the old buildings as they have historical value," said Hendra, the founder of the Sumatra Heritage Board.

Hendra, the owner of the Garuda Plaza Hotel in Medan, said that what was going on in Medan was in total contrast to what was happening in Malaysia. In the neighboring country, the government helped preserve old buildings, frequently turning historic quarters into tourist attractions.

In Medan, however, the local government allowed the buildings to be demolished one by one.

The director of the Sumatra Heritage Board, Suhardi Hartono, said the government should pay more attention to the matter as old buildings were being demolished at an alarming rate.

According to the board's figures, dozens of old buildings in the city had been demolished in the past few years, including the Deli Serdang Regency Offices on Jl. Katamso, the South East Asia Bank on Jl. Pemuda, the Public Works Office on Jl. Listrik and the ex Mega Eltra building on Jl. Katamso, which was built in 1912.

Among the latest buildings being demolished on Jl. Kesawan, one was formerly used by Modern Bank.

Suhardi said it was the duty of both the public and the government to help preserve old buildings. This would not be easy as there were still a large number of old buildings in the city. He said that the board had listed 42 old buildings that were still being used as offices by the Medan city government and were protected under a city bylaw issued in 1988. The board is now proposing that the city government designated 73 other buildings as protected buildings. Medan city government spokesman Arlan Nasution said the government was discussing the proposal. Responding to a journalist's about the latest demolitions, Arlan said the old buildings being demolished were not protected by the city bylaw.