Locals doubt benefits of Pitung tourist site
Urip Hudiono, Jakarta
Residents of Marunda Pulo fishing village in North Jakarta, where the house of legendary Betawi (native Jakartan) hero Pitung stands, are doubtful that the municipality's plan to convert their area into a tourism site would benefit them.
Legend says Pitung is the Robin Hood of Betawi, who stole from the wealthy Buginese, Chinese and Arabs and was never captured.
"The municipal administration said it will build a low-cost apartment in the area some time next year," Ibu Saeni said, referring to the mayor's Jakarta anniversary speech during his June 22 to Pitung's house.
"The administration also said it would help renovate our homes into stilt houses, because our area is known to flood," she said.
Saeni, whose stilt house is next door to Pitung's, told The Jakarta Post that the villagers used to have no problem with tidal floods from the nearby sea, because they could predict and prepare for it.
"But since more and more buildings and factories appeared in the area, the floods have become unpredictable and uncontrollable," she said. "The buildings have also taken up the surrounding marshes, where the tide water used to flow, so the tides now flood village homes."
Saeni is not the only one who fears the plan would only marginalize them more, if not evict them.
Muhammad Sambu bin Ichsan, a village elder, said he has also heard the municipality would provide better housing for them as part of the tourism plan, but showed his deep skepticism over it.
"We will, of course, welcome such a plan, but to tell you the truth, we don't know when or whether it will really happen, because officials' words are usually only promises and lip service," he said.
Sambu also expressed his concern the plan would, in the end, displace them from an area that has been home for generations.
He explained that residents of nearby neighborhood unit RT 6 had already been evicted, and compensated only Rp 16 million (US$1,702).
"That would not be enough to buy any house anywhere in the capital, nor enough to pay monthly installments for our renovated houses here," he said.
The village, which is registered as community unit RW 7, has 10 neighborhood units comprising some 400 families, most of whom make a living as fishermen and as workers at nearby factories.
Another community figure, Haj Atit, who is also the head keeper of Pitung's house, had previously asked the municipality to thoroughly consider the consequences of its plans on the village community.
The Jakarta Museum and History Agency renovated and established Pitung's house as a historical site in 1972. However, the red, wooden stilt house was in poor condition and seemed neglected when the Post visited earlier this week.
The 20 x 10 meter house, with wood-paneled floors and carved beams and staircases, was empty and without furniture.
Ubaidillah, Atit's son, said only about five visitors came to see the house on weekdays.
"But a fair number of visitors, from as far as Bekasi and also foreign tourists, do come in groups of up to 20 people on Sundays, once in a while," he said.
Several villagers, however, said they did not quite understand why the museum agency decided to declare that particular house as Pitung's.
Sambu said it was probably because the house was the only one in the area that had retained its traditional Betawi features and was in good condition.
"As far as I know, the house once belonged to a wealthy village resident, not Pitung. If Pitung had anything to do with the house, then it was probably that he once slept there, or had swindled the owner into registering it under his name," he said, adding that many stories circulating about Pitung -- such as the one that he could fly -- were exaggerated.
Fellow elder Hasan also could not recall any connection between Pitung and the village.
"Our grandparents never knew of Pitung, while there is no one here who has family ties with him," he said. "From what I know, Pitung came from Rawa Belong in South Jakarta, not here."