Sutiyoso advised to protect Candra Naya building
Sutiyoso advised to protect Candra Naya building
Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The city's Culture and Museum Agency has recommended that
Governor Sutiyoso not issue a permit for the demolition of the
Candra Naya building on Jl. Gajah Mada in West Jakarta, but the
governor has said he is still undecided on the issue.
Sutiyoso said on Monday he needed to consult with the Land
Affairs Office (BPUT) before taking any decision on the building.
"It will be discussed with the BPUT and we will consider the
matter thoroughly," Sutiyoso said when asked to comment on the
recommendation of the Culture and Museum Agency.
Candra Naya is protected as a cultural heritage building,
based on Gubernatorial Decree No. 475/1993. The building is now
surrounded by tall sheets of corrugated iron, while an unfinished
hotel and a 30-floor apartment block straddle the building.
The Modern Group, which bought the property from the heirs of
the Khouw family in 1992, is developing the hotel and apartment
block. The company planned to dismantle the old building and
reconstruct it at the Taman Mini Indonesia Indah in East Jakarta.
Candra Naya was built at the end of the 18th century by Khouw
Tjeng Toan, a well-known and wealthy ethnic Chinese politician.
Nurhadi, the head of the Culture and Museum Agency, said at
City Hall on Monday that the people should join the effort to
save the building, which he said was a valuable piece of the
city's heritage that should be protected.
"If the demolition of the building is allowed, it would be
followed by the demolition of other old buildings," Nurhadi said,
adding that there were some 240 protected buildings in the city.
He said that if the owners of Candra Naya were allowed to
demolish the building, they would not be allowed to construct a
new building on the land because his agency would never provide
the necessary recommendation to the Building Assessment and
Supervisory Agency, which is authorized to issue construction
permits.
According to research by the School of Engineering at
Tarumanegara University, Candra Naya has about 100 bedrooms,
which is unsurprising considering the original owner had 14
consorts and 24 children.
Scott Merrillees, in his book Batavia in Nineteenth Century
Photographs, said the last Khouw family member to live in the
house was Khouw Kim An, a member of the People's Council
(Volksraad) from 1921 to 1931.
He died in 1941 and his son either sold or donated the house
to a Chinese social and education organization, Sin Ming Hui,
also known as Candra Naya, which became today's Tarumanegara
University and Sumber Waras Hospital in West Jakarta.