Traders want 'Makassar' back

Traders want 'Makassar' back

JAKARTA (JP): A group of prominent Bugis traders is calling on
the government to restore the old name of the capital of South
Sulawesi, Makassar, in place of its current name Ujungpandang.

The Association of Bugis Makassar Traders concluded its
meeting in Ujungpandang with a set of recommendations, including
demanding the provincial administration's fight for the
restoration of the name Makassar, the Antara news agency reported
yesterday.

The report did not give the reason for wanting to change back
to the capital's old name, but the association has agreed to
adopt the name for one of its own institutions, the Makassar
Business Information Center.

The center is to be used as a medium for business contacts
between local Bugis traders and their associates from outside the
province, including foreign executives.

It was not immediately clear how representative is the desire
to change the name of the South Sulawesi capital.

The association of Bugis Makassar traders, however, appears to
be a powerful lobby. Its conference in Ujungpandang on March 15-
16 was opened by State Minister of Research and Technology B.J.
Habibie, who hails from the province, and was closed by Maj. Gen.
Sulatin, the chief of the Wirabuana Military Command.

The battle over the name of the South Sulawesi capital goes
some four centuries back. The city had long been known as
Makassar, even to traders from Europe. It changed to Ujungpandang
during the Dutch colonial era but the name never really caught on
and most people still referred to it as Makassar.

When Indonesia became independent, the city was officially
named Makassar. But in 1971, after eight years of campaigning,
the local people managed to have the name formally changed to
Ujungpandang.

This left some people unhappy and since then they have been
campaigning for the return of the name Makassar. (emb)