Merdeka Palace: Big, old and spooky

Merdeka Palace: Big, old and spooky

Leony Aurora, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

For many people, home is a sanctuary, a place to show their true
self and seek shelter from the chaos outside. If one lives at
Merdeka Palace, however, being at home means conforming to yet
another set of protocols.

"I could never go out (of my room) in my nightgown or with
messy hair," Yenny Zannuba Wahid, daughter of former president
Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid, recalled on Tuesday -- bodyguards
would always be around the corner and other staff members were
likely to be nearby.

"For an informal family like ours, it was a bit of a hassle,"
the 30-year-old said.

Aside from Gus Dur, founding president Sukarno was the only
other head of state who resided in Merdeka Palace, the official
presidential residence. The other three -- Soeharto, BJ Habibie
and Megawati Soekarnoputri -- stayed at separate residences
outside of palace grounds.

President-elect Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, however, has opted
not to remain at his private residence in Cikeas, Bogor, and
instead occupy the palace during his tenure.

"I think it will be easier for him, coming from the military.
He's used to the discipline," said Yenny.

Merdeka Palace may seem like a palace out of fairy tales --
immense, white and luxurious, with servants at one's beck and
call. The bedrooms are located off a large hall inside.

"Actually, it's not really that comfortable living there,"
said Yenny, who lived at the palace from 1999 to 2001.

She could forget about some of the small pleasures that could
be had in an ordinary home, like cooking instant noodles herself
for a midnight snack -- no separate kitchen is available for
family use. "We had to ask somebody to make it for us," she said.

Still, the many trees in the vast garden made it a beautiful
place for afternoon walks.

"But there were loads of mosquitoes," she said. "The palace is
not as luxurious as people may think. It's an old building."

The 2,400 sq m Merdeka Palace was built in 1873 by the Dutch
East Indies administration to complement the State Palace, which
was constructed in 1796 by Dutch businessman J.A. van Braam. The
State Palace is used to hold official functions.

Both structures are located in the 6.8-hectare presidential
compound in Central Jakarta, which also houses Wisma Negara --
the State Guest House -- a museum and a mosque.

These buildings have witnessed many important historic events,
such as how the Dutch planned to capture Javanese Prince
Diponegoro in the late 1820s, the Linggarjati agreement of 1947
and the Dutch's recognition of Indonesian sovereignty in 1949.

With such a history, it is no wonder that the place is a bit
spooky.

"There were lots of ghosts there," said Yenny, who in 2002
contributed an article on the phenomenon in Latitudes magazine.
"They sometimes scared my little sister by turning the lights on
and off," she added.

Even Gus Dur's chair moved by itself and burly bodyguards did
not dare sleep alone in their basement quarters.

People who had seen the ghosts said there were others,
including a dwarf, a headless man and -- of course, as it was a
former colonial building -- a Dutch lady with long blond hair in
a flowing gown.

"My mother often held Koran recitals in the palace, so it was
not so creepy," said Yenny. "But still, if we had to cross the
hall at night, we sprinted across," she added with a small laugh.

It will be curious to learn what things go bump in the night
during Susilo's time in the palace.