Jakarta's preservation efforts enter 21st year

Jakarta's preservation efforts enter 21st year

By Amir Sidharta [10 pts ML]

JAKARTA (JP): Twenty years have passed since restoration work
on Taman Fatahilah and the Jakarta History Museum was completed.

The 1970-1974 restoration project transformed a chaotic public
transportation terminal into the formal public square that lies
in Jakarta's historical Kota district.

Since then, two other museums around the square were
established, making Taman Fatahilah and the museums around it one
of Jakarta's most prominent centers of tourism, conservation,
urban planning, and education, despite the operational
maintenance problems that are apparent today.

Prior to the restoration of Taman Fatahilah, the area was used
as a makeshift public transportation interchange in front of a
Military District Command headquarters, which occupied the
historical Town Hall of Batavia (the former name of Jakarta).

Around the square, there were other buildings of historical
significance, such as the High Court building, which was occupied
by the West Jakarta mayoralty.

Realizing the urgency of a preservation program that would
contribute to the economic development of Jakarta through
tourism, Sergio Dello Strologo, an expert on product and
industrial design contracted by the United Nations Development
Program to develop Indonesian handicrafts, envisioned the
restoration of Taman Fatahilah.

The plan, to return the open space in front of the Town Hall
building to its historical appearance as a public square, was
developed and proposed to the municipality.

Old Jakarta

The Restoration of the Old Jakarta Project commenced in 1970,
with the support of former governor Ali Sadikin.

Five key personalities were appointed to implement Strologo's
plan. Wastu Pragantha, popularly known as Pak Tjong, a chief
planner of the Jakarta government, was appointed as the Chief
Project Officer, while Adji Damais, acted as the Historical
Research Advisor.

Other important figures included Wardiman Djojonegoro, then
Chief of Office of the Governor and currently Minister of
Education and Culture, G.A. Warmansjah and Martono Yuwono, then
both from the Museum and History Agency of the municipality.

The restoration project planned to reintroduce the historical
elements of the square, based on research conducted on
documentation as well as historic prints, watercolors, and
photographs that showed the past appearance of the square.

Based on a 1776 drawing by J.W. Heydt, the location and form
of a fountain that was placed in the middle of the square could
be determined.

An excavation of the estimated location uncovered the original
fountain's foundation. The fountain was then reconstructed using
the original foundations as its base.

The history of the restoration and preparation of the Town
Hall building as a museum that would house historical artifacts
mainly from the colonial period is in itself noteworthy.

Clock tower

In an effort to get the old clock tower bell mechanism
installed by Raffles circa 1810, Strologo corresponded with the
curator of the Raffles Collection in London, to ask where the
clock could be repaired.

At first the curator seemed indifferent, but later she wrote
that the old clock tower bell mechanism could be repaired. "The
company that can repair the bell...is the very company that made
it," she added.

Strologo immediately wrote to the company, which had changed
its name from Swaithes and Leythem to Swaithes and Taylor. The
company wrote in reply, "I am sorry that your clock is not in
working condition, but I must say that it has been a long
time...."

The company was prepared to repair the clock, especially
because they were sure that the clock was purchased from them,
proven by the original Bill of Lading, still meticulously filed
in their archives.

The successful completion of the restoration project could not
have been possible without generous institutional support and in-
kind contributions.

For example, the clock mechanism was flown to London to be
repaired with the compliments of Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific
Airlines. The costs of the repair were borne by the British
government.

With additional assistance from the John D. Rockefeller fund
and the Jakarta-Amsterdam Sister City Program, the Town Hall
building was transformed into the Jakarta History Museum,
replacing the Old Jakarta Museum housed in the building known
today as the Wayang Museum.

Cannon

Originally known as the Oud Batavia Museum founded by the
Stichting Oud Batavia, the Old Jakarta Museum housed a large
collection of artifacts from Jakarta's colonial period. The
collection, which included the best V.O.C. (Dutch trading company
in the colonial period) furniture from different periods, was
also transferred to the collection of what was to be the Jakarta
History Museum.

A large Portuguese cannon known as Si Jagur was also exhibited
in the Old Jakarta Museum. There it was protected by signs
prohibiting the placement of offerings and prohibiting people
from mounting the cannon.

Apparently the cannon, which terminates in a figure of a hand
gesturing a symbol for copulation - in Portuguese a fica, has
been associated with fertility. In the past, women would mount
the cannon, hoping to be able to bear children thereafter.

The cannon is now positioned to the north of the Taman
Fatahilah, on a pedestal high enough to prevent people from
climbing on top of it.

In an effort to include an Indonesian interpretation in the
museum, Sudjojono, one of the pioneers of modern Indonesian art,
was asked to paint a scene depicting the army of Sultan Agung's
attack on Batavia in 1628-29.

The painter ingeniously selected the brief moment after which
the troops succeeded in burning down part of the City Hall.

Unfortunately, for logistical reasons, at that point the army
immediately decided to retreat, and was eventually defeated by
the Dutch.

The gigantic painting still stands today filling a wall of the
Sultan Agung room of the museum.

On March 30, 1974, the completion of Taman Fatahilah's
restoration was marked by the official opening of the Jakarta
History Museum by the Governor of Jakarta.

A few days later, it became part of Her Majesty the Queen of
England's royal visit to Indonesia.

Problems

Since 1970, three museums have been established around the
Taman Fatahilah. Following the founding of the Jakarta History
Museum, the Museum Wayang was founded a year later, and the
Ceramics Museum and Jakarta Art Gallery were founded in 1976.

With the three museums, the Taman Fatahilah has great
potential to become one of the most prominent tourism and
educational centers of Jakarta. The recently opened Cafe Batavia,
located at the northwestern corner of the square, has become a
popular 24-hour entertainment venue for Jakarta's self-styled
elite.

On the other hand, however, the museums around the square face
maintenance and development problems. Due to the high degree of
pollution in the area, the objects and the physical structure of
the museums needs to be cleaned constantly. Many of the objects
in the museums are in dire need of repair. A program to provide
proper interpretation and labels is also urgently needed, not to
mention other educational programs that can be developed.

It is clear that the problems are inherent in the management
systems of museums in Indonesia. First of all, the entrance fees
to museums are too low, even by Indonesian standards. It is a
miracle that museums in Indonesia are still running with entrance
fees as low as Rp 150. It is no wonder, therefore, that the
museum always seems to be so poorly maintained. "It's cheaper
than the parking fee," observed a young Indonesian, seven years
of age, noticing the low price.

Based on operational costs (not yet including costs of
insurance, acquisitions and development) divided by admission
figures, entrance should cost around Rp 2,000, 10 times the
current price. Some may argue that the suggested price would be
too high for students, but of course, an elaborate arrangement
for special tickets can be developed.

According to the director of the Jakarta History Museum, Adji
Damais, who was also involved in the 1970-74 restoration, if it
is possible for the entrance fee to be raised, school children
would be able to ask for a special rate or even be exempted from
the fee, provided that they send a written request beforehand.
Nonetheless, simply raising the entrance fee by even a small
margin requires a decree from the Governor of Jakarta.

Visitor friendly

Secondly, the museums' hours of operation do not take into
consideration the needs of their audience. The museums close by 3
p.m. on weekdays and Saturdays, and at 1 p.m. on Fridays and
Sundays. Since the museum is so hard to get to during the day
when traffic is so heavy, such limited opening hours are not
visitor friendly.

The daily hours of operation of the museums should at least be
extended to 6 p.m. Adding a day in which the museum opens late,
to 9 p.m., for example, would also attract more people,
especially as the area has become increasingly popular for
Jakarta's nightowls. Of course this would call for a new safety
and security scheme.

Despite the fact that the museums around the square are
frequented by a significant number of visitors, they fail to
attract repeat visitors. This is because much of the exhibition
spaces of the museums have not changed since their early years of
operation. Furthermore, the museums have yet to offer programs
that would entice people to visit the museum on a frequent basis.

Not too many people realize that the public square in front of
the historical Town Hall building was a conscious Indonesian
effort to conserve part of its history, albeit a bitter colonial
one. Many take it for granted and think that it has been there
since the colonial times. Although a register that listed
significant historical structures was developed by the Dutch, the
square, the Town Hall, and High Court buildings were not included
in the list.

Currently, an exhibition on the historiography of preservation
around Taman Fatahilah is being planned and is scheduled to open
in June, in conjunction with Jakarta's anniversary. The
exhibition is hoped to increase the appreciation of the past
efforts at historical preservation. It is also intended to create
an awareness about historical preservation efforts, and help the
public become more involved in such efforts in the future.

The writer completed his studies in Historical Preservation at
George Washington University's Museum Studies Program on a
Fulbright Scholarship.