Taman Mini invites new provinces to establish their own pavilions

Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The management of Taman Mini Indonesia Indah has invited newly established provinces to set up pavilions in the park so that all the country's provinces are represented there.

"We warmly welcome the new provinces to build their pavilions here. But such an initiative should come from the local administrations; our task is only to facilitate," Masud Toyib, the park manager for art, culture and tourist affairs, said last Saturday.

Four new provinces, Bangka Belitung, Banten, Gorontalo and North Maluku, which were established after the fall of Soeharto, are not yet represented in the park, which was developed by the former first lady Ibu Tien Soeharto's Harapan Kita Foundation in 1975.

The park, which is now under control of the state secretariat, was designed as a miniature of the Indonesian archipelago and functions as a cultural park for all its provinces.

According to Masud, only the province of Banten has expressed serious interest in establishing a pavilion in the park.

When the park was established, all 26 provinces had pavilions there. All of them are managed by the respective provinces.

The East Timor pavilion was established in 1980, but is now under the control of the Taman Mini management following the referendum in 1999 when the majority of the East Timorese voted for an independent state.

Masud said the presence of regional pavilions was not only aimed at attracting tourists to the park, but also an effective place to promote each region to both local and foreign tourists.

During the Soeharto era, various facilities were developed in the park. They include cable cars, paddleboats, Imax movies and various kinds of parks and museums. But after his fall, there has been no significant physical development in the park.

Masud said the park received its revenue mainly from selling tickets at the main entrance, because most of the tourist facilities inside the park had not yet contributed significantly to its income.

"Only a few of the 17 museums and parks here are able to cover their own daily operational costs," he said.