Parapat palace, Sukarno's former residence

Parapat palace, Sukarno's former residence

Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Parapat, Medan

Just like Digul, Bangka and other towns that have gone down in
history as places where Indonesia's first president Sukarno was
exiled to by Dutch colonial rulers, the North Sumatra town of
Parapat boasts that it was one of them.

Located about 165 kilometers from the provincial capital of
Medan, the town is home to a palace where Sukarno had to stay in
during his exile.

Built some 10 meters above ground, the palace overlooks Lake
Toba, only some 75 meters away, allowing visitors to enjoy the
beauty of the lake.

Sukarno, who was exiled here along with another national
leader, Agus Salim, stayed in the palace for three months in
1948. As written in the history books, shortly after these two
leaders left the palace, another leader, Sutan Syahrir, was
banished here, too.

Andi Misdi, who has been taking care of the palace for 28
years, said that previously, the palace, which was built in 1910
on a plot of land measuring some 2 hectares, was a Dutch estate
administration office.

With the end of Dutch colonial rule in Indonesia, the palace
became an asset of the North Sumatra provincial administration.

As this historical building is the pride of the people of
North Sumatra, particularly residents of Parapat, the local
administration has done many things to preserve it, including its
renovation.

Misdi said the renovation did not alter the original layout of
the building since most of the work was done to repair its walls.

"Most of the palace walls had decayed and had to be repainted
after they put up new wooden planks," said Misdi.

The palace's two-story main building measures 15 meters by 14
meters with a separate kitchen at the back. Flowers, elaborately
landscaped, surround the entire palace.

On the first floor of the main building, visitors can find a
sitting room where guests were entertained. There are bedrooms on
each side of this room.

On the second floor, there is another bedroom that is slightly
larger than those on the first floor.

In front of the building, there is an open veranda where one
can take in the beautiful scenery of Lake Toba.

"Former president Sukarno used the bedroom on the first floor,
the one on the left side of the sitting room," explained Misdi,
adding that during his exile, Sukarno always enjoyed looking at
Lake Toba from the palace's upper veranda.

Today, the palace is used as a place where high-ranking state
officials can rest and enjoy the beauty of Lake Toba.

Misdi said that former information minister Harmoko, former
health minister Adiyatma, former state minister of public housing
Cosmas Batubara and former state minister of environment Emil
Salim were among the officials that had visited the palace.

"The palace is under the local administration's management.
Many of the administration's guests, particularly high-ranking
state officials and local administration officials like the
governor and his deputy, have spent the night here," Misdi said.

When asked whether any members of Sukarno's family had visited
the palace, Misdi said that so far, only his son, Guruh
Soekarnoputra, had and that was back in 1983.

"Our President should also come to see the place where her
father spent his time in exile," Misdi said.