Memorials for Jakarta

Memorials for Jakarta

Street names, it has been said, tell a lot about a country's
social and political psyche. If that is true, it may not be long
before a ride through the streets of Jakarta could give visitors
the (hopefully false) impression that little has changed in
Indonesia, all the talk about reform and democratization
notwithstanding. If Jakarta's Governor Sutiyoso has his way,
monuments -- or, to put it more precisely, statues -- of this
country's national heroes, early and recent, will soon adorn
Jakarta's major streets and avenues.

Statues of the native Jakartan pre-independence nationalist
politician, Mohammad Husni Thamrin, and General Sudirman,
Indonesia's first Army chief, still highly revered by the
military, will join the fire-bearing image of "Hotplate Harry" at
the beginning of Jalan Sisingamangaraja, which leads into Blok M.
The mythical Mahabharata figures of Arjuna and his divine
charioteer Kresna will grace the area near the National Monument
(Monas) in Medan Merdeka Square, at the other end of the mile-
long thoroughfare.

Elsewhere in the center of the city, statues of Army generals
Gatot Subroto, Suparman, Sutoyo and others, six of whom met their
tragic deaths during the failed communist-led September 1965
coup, will overlook the traffic snarls along the capital's main
streets as they stand there braving the smog.

Possibly, and hopefully, some thought will also be given to
paying homage to other Indonesian heroes -- either civilians or
military, government-sanctioned or otherwise -- who, during their
lifetime, gave their very best to the progress of this nation. A
few examples: Indonesia's first prime minister Sutan Syahrir, Dr.
Setiabudi and other pre-independence nationalists, Kartini, who
pioneered the women's emancipation movement in Indonesia, and Ki
Hajar Dewantoro, who helped shape Indonesia's national education
philosophy.

Although there should be no problem at all for city
authorities to find enough heroes to adorn the capital's streets
-- more than a hundred are presently listed -- one problem that
seems certain to crop up for those entrusted with the selection
is whether or not to honor leftists, or even communists in this
manner. After all, in the pre-World War Two colonial Netherlands
East Indies -- the present Indonesia -- leftist leaders, such as
Tan Malaka, played a vital role in fighting the Dutch.

As for the great number of heroes Indonesia honors, there is
nothing wrong in principle of a nation honoring its champions.
What has for a long time been a subject of debate is the
misguided tendency among many Indonesians to relate heroism with
force. During the military-dominated New Regime of former
president Soeharto especially, Jakarta saw many of its street
names changed, to the confusion of residents, to keep alive the
memory of their deceased military officers.

In view of all this, the addition of monuments could, if done
with taste, help spruce up many of Jakarta's cheerless and
disorderly streets. Changing our basic concepts about memorials
could help to better keep alive the memory not only of past
events which we regard as significant, but of the lofty values
which they represent and which we hold high as a nation. To be
honest, most, if not all, of this city's present statues and
monuments look ludicrous or even ugly to many of Jakarta's
residents, expatriates and Indonesians alike.

If Governor Sutiyoso is serious with his plan, he hopefully
will have the good sense to involve people with a good background
in art, city architecture or esthetics for his project. By doing
so, hopefully, he can give not only Jakartans, but Indonesians
everywhere, monuments that are true memorials. Surely the capital
city of this region's biggest nation deserves to have memorable
memorials that are not kitsch, but art in the truest sense of the
word.