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.