Sukarno's former home to be reconstructed

Sukarno's former home to be reconstructed

JAKARTA (JP): The city administration will begin next year
reconstruction of demolished residence of the late president
Sukarno in the Central Jakarta's Pegangsaan subdistrict.

Head of the city museum and restoration agency Robert Silalahi
said on Thursday his office was completing preliminary studies on
the building's structure.

"We have collected documents on the building and are about to
determine the site of the planned building," he said as part of a
campaign to promote the newly enacted city bylaw on protection of
historic buildings and their surrounding areas.

The demolished building was the site of many important
meetings during and after the proclamation of the nation's
independence on Aug., 17, 1945.

Robert declined to reveal the estimated cost of the
reconstruction project, saying that the amount had yet to be
calculated.

However, Robert's assistant, Rusli Hamid, estimated that
preliminary studies of the reconstruction project alone would
cost about Rp 100 million (US$11,764).

"Everything will be covered by the city budget," Rusli said.

He said the agency was still discussing the exact site for the
house because two buildings had been erected around the original
site of the house -- the Independence Pioneers building and the
Thunderbolt Monument.

Robert said the decision to rebuild the house was to comply
with recommendations made by former members of the city council
commission E for social welfare affairs before they ended their
term last August.

Before they ended their term, the commission E members urged
the city administration to reconstruct the historical building,
which was formerly located on Jl. Pegangsaan Timur 56, Central
Jakarta. The building has now become the site of the Proclamation
Monument on Jl. Proklamasi.

Former commission E chairman Soeparmo said at the time that it
was the right time to rebuild the house because many of the
eyewitnesses to events in the historic former house were still
alive.

"The administration should act quickly to use the chance
before the eyewitnesses die," he said.

The commission said the rebuilding was important so that the
younger generation would be able to trace their history.

The reason for the demolition of the Dutch-style building
remains a mystery. The disappearance of two replicas made by the
late former city governor, Henk Ngantung, is also unclear.

But it is known that the 1960 demolition order came from
Sukarno himself. (ind)