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)