Pasar Baru a return to elegant times past

By Ida Indawati Khouw

Once called Passer Baroe, the Pasar Baru shopping complex remains a nostalgic mirror into the past. Some of the old shops are still standing, kept by the descendants of the first owners from bygone eras. This is the ninth article in The Jakarta Post series on historical buildings, featured in Saturday editions.

JAKARTA (JP): Most of the shops in Pasar Baru bear Chinese or old European architectural designs, with some of them dating back more than 200 years.

Its name, meaning "New Market", belies its long history and tradition of trade. Many businesses remain in the hands of the same families who set up the enterprises all those years ago. The names also remain the same.

When the market was first established in the early 1800s in what was then the burgeoning town of Batavia, shop owners and customers were a melting pot of the different races in the city -- Dutch, Chinese, Indian, Pakistani and Malay.

The faces also remain the same today in Jakarta, with the exception of the Dutch.

The hustle-and-bustle on the main streets continue although the style and mood of trade have changed with the times.

Cries and urgent beckoning of vendors of yore has been drowned out by the noisy sound of huge loudspeakers.

The area has produced at least one vendor of note: Hari Dharmawan, one of the reigning kings of the retail business.

Some of the stores which have borne witness to the changes in the area are Kimia Farma pharmacy, Lee Ie Seng stationary store (it earlier was a restaurant) and the Kompak (formerly Sin Siong Bouw) grocery store.

The pharmacy, constructed to a European architectural design, is believed to have been one of the earliest buildings on the site.

The Lee Ie Seng store, now looking like an elderly citizen in the neighborhood, was established in 1873. Both Lee Ie Seng and Kompak stores were constructed to Chinese designs.

Other shop owners have decided to totally rebuild their stores on the site of their old businesses, but have kept their old, familiar shop names.

Many of the shop boards proudly bear the date of establishment.

Stores given a makeover include the Tjung-Tjung watch shop, which was established in 1935, and Seis, or Tjun Lie optics, said to be first constructed in 1927.

Some shop owners continue to practice the storekeeping techniques of their forefathers.

Johny, who runs Lee Ie Seng, uses the Chinese abacus instead of modern calculators.

Many local shop owners said that the 87-year-old Sin Lie Seng shoe shop was long a draw for customers. The shop, now managed by a fourth generation descendant of the original owner, still attract many buyers.

Mey Mey said the family bitterly resisted efforts to change its name despite the government's regulation that Indonesian names must be substituted for Chinese names.

"It's about customer's trust for the brand," she said.

Mey Mey said her shop no longer took personal orders from customers. Like other modern shoe shops, it offers a range of shoe sizes and brands.

"Everything has changed," she acknowledged.

Evelyn Yio Sioe Hoen from the Melati crockery shop said the business, established in 1912 and the veteran of several name changes, still kept an old tradition.

Fragile items are stored in the warehouse on the fourth floor of the building; they are carried downstairs when needed.

The shop's lift is only used for bigger items.

"It's a matter of efficiency and to preserve the tradition," she said.

"Customers always remember our shop as a place to search for wedding gifts. We also once bought wedding presents from a newlywed couple," said Evelyn, daughter-in-law of the owner.

She "married" into the store; she was a shop assistant but married the owner's son.

Many older Jakartans will remember the Pasar Baru shopping complex as the place to shop in their youth. It was considered the center of fashion, with designs offered by traders of various nationalities.

In its heyday, stores like Isardas, Hariom and Gehimal were favorites to pick up swank new attire for male customers. Women in search of quality silk and other cloth would visit the Bombay or Lilaram.

An aging local resident enthusiastically reminisced about the past of the shopping area, which is bisected by a 575-meter-long boulevard.

The 76-year-old ethnic Chinese woman, who insisted on anonymity, recalled at least two department stores -- De Son and Europa -- in the area in the 1940s.

De Son was the first shop run by Hari Dharmawan, founder of the now publicly listed PT Matahari Putra Prima Tbk retailer.

Although Hari could not be reached for comment recently, he once told reporters about he went around collecting money from other traders at the site to pay off the local preman (hoodlums).

De Son is now home to a Matahari; Europe department is no more.

"After shopping, customers usually ate at the Luilekkerland restaurant which served Dutch, Chinese and Indonesian food," the elderly woman said.

"Dutch people preferred Capitol cafe on Jl. Antara which served food from their country."

She remembered how Jl. Pasar Baru also became a hotbed of entertainment spots during Dutch religious or state observances or Chinese ceremonial events.

She said this included the Dutch Sinterklasfeest -- the observance of the feast of St. Nicholas on Dec. 5 in which gifts are exchanged --, as well as Queen Wilhelmina's birthday on Aug. 31.

There was also the Chinese Cap Go Meh celebration.

"It was so festive during the events. Shops, which were decorated with Christmas trees and ornaments, were crowded with customers searching for presents for the feast of St. Nicholas.

"Schoolchildren and the Betawi traditional music performance, Tanjidor, were featured during the queen's birthday."

She said the most exuberant celebration of all was Cap Go Meh, marking the 15th day after the Lunar New Year, that Tepekong (idols) were paraded throughout the Pasar Baru area to downtown Kota, accompanied by the noisy sounds of exploding firecrackers and Barongsay dragons.

The revelry continued until 2 a.m. or 3 a.m., she said.

Even then vendors found an opportunity to do some promotion.

"Businessmen usually made use the parade by promoting their products through a kind of billboard carried by the Tanjidor players."

Pasar Baru's delights faded during the dark Japanese occupation from 1942 to 1945. The government prohibited all forms of festivities in the area.

Although the area is considered the oldest upscale commercial area in the city, there are no definitive records on its history. Even the precise date of its establishment remains murky.

Consultant to the Pasar Baru revitalization project Rai Pratadaja estimated it was founded about 1820 "because the oldest photograph was taken in that year".

Other experts believe the shopping complex was established years before.

Historical buildings expert Djauhari Sumintardja and archeologist Candrian Attahiyat believe that Pasar Baru was not built according to a plan but gradually grew out of one trading area.

Candrian said that its name showed that it developed from an older market on or around the same site.