JP/5/OLD

JP/5/OLD

Historic Medan buildings on the brink of destruction

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value, have been replaced by offices and malls.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.