Yogya's Malioboro to undergo massive face-lift

By Tjahjono Ep

YOGYAKARTA (JP): For past visitors to Yogyakarta, Malioboro is probably the street they remember best. Built by Sultan Hamengkubuwono I in 1757, Malioboro is the most famous tourist haunt for buying traditional souvenirs and dining.

But the bustling one-kilometer-long boulevard, located in the heart of the ancient city to the north of the Yogyakarta palace, has lost its mystical grandeur. A commercial invasion almost destroyed its "mystical soul" from 1975 to 1982.

Malioboro underwent radical changes. Ancient buildings were torn down to make way for the road expansion project. Modern buildings like multistory hotels, shopping malls and movie theaters mushroomed. Centuries-old shady tamarind trees were indiscriminately felled and replaced with palm trees.

Destruction of the old Malioboro occurred despite strong protests from local artists and intellectuals who had for many years made the street their place to muse and gain inspiration.

Malioboro once stretched from Gedung Agung in the south to the Tugu traffic circle, about 2 km away, in the north. But when Tugu Railway Station was built in 1888 right in its center, the northern half became known by a different name.

From the outset, Malioboro was designed to be a center for Yogyakarta's economic activities. In the course of time, however, houses were built on both sides of the boulevard.

At the southern end was Beringharjo market. Another market, Pasar Kembang, was also built at the northern end. This market was formerly a nursery producing flowers used in traditional rituals at the palace. Today, Kembang is a notorious red-light district.

In the center, there was Dalem Kepatihan Danurejan, an office where royal officials supervised trade activities on Malioboro.

Malioboro has been redesigned several times over the years. The first renovation occurred in 1813 and was initiated by Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono III. The project was implemented by regent Secodiningrat I, an aristocrat of Chinese descent whose given name was Tan Jien Sing.

Malioboro continued changing in the course of time. Now the famous street remains a commercial district, modern but chaotic. Tall buildings obstruct the view of Mount Merapi from the south. Thousands of street vendors have made Malioboro a giant market; busy traffic not only worsens the problem but also pollutes the air.

Sadly, Malioboro's beauty belongs as something of the past.

Bowing to the demand from all those longing for Malioboro's past romanticism, the government is planning to reshape the street, with the aim to "restore Malioboro's soul".

Rick L. Frenkel, a Swiss consultant on the project, said Malioboro's original function and characteristics changed mainly because of the many motorized vehicles. Busiest of all is Saturday evenings when up to 4,000 vehicles jam the street.

Only 26 percent have business on the street and the others are merely passing by. Sidewalks are now occupied by the ubiquitous vendors or used as motorcycle parking lots.

The project will begin with the reorganization of traffic. Further steps will be to rearrange the spatial use to help economically empower the people.

Provincial officials are tight lipped about the cost of the project, which is scheduled to be completed by the year 2000. But one source said it is a multi-million dollar project with the money coming from the local government and foreign donors.

Three major problems hamper the management of Malioboro. First, economic activities which have reached a point of saturation because every inch of the street is used. Second, the widening gap between the "roadside community" and the community inside the residential areas. Third, degradation of the environment because of the absence of trees.

Exacerbating the situation is the construction of new buildings whose design defies the original philosophy of Malioboro, for harmony and communication between the subjects and the king, and between city leaders and businesspeople.

To optimize Malioboro as a center for development of culture, tourism and business, Sultan Hamengkubuwono X, in his capacity as Yogyakarta governor, has proposed that Malioboro be closed to motorized vehicles. Only pedicabs, horse-drawn carts and bicycles would be allowed to enter the road section between the Tugu Railway Station entrance gate in the north and Vredenberg in the south.

Malioboro will be made a site where visitors will have a better place for business, cultural and leisure activities without the hassles of traffic, noise and air pollution.

Visitors' motor vehicles would be parked at four parking areas to be built around Malioboro with total acreage of three hectares. The parking lots are planned for nearby Jl. Dagen, Jl. Pajeksan, Jl. Suryataman and Jl. Mataram.

The long-term goal of the project is to open more business opportunities on Malioboro. Street vendors will be accommodated in well-arranged decorated tents.

Areas between the palace-Tugu-Jl. Cokroaminoto and Dr. Wahidin will be made heritage conservation sites. Malioboro's western side will be designated industrial centers.

Tugu and Lempuyangan railway stations will be reactivated and service for tourists will be improved. Under the new provincial master plan, Bantul in the south and Kaliurang in the north are earmarked as agricultural buffer zones.

Consultants and officials assert that the Malioboro renovation project will not tear down the existing buildings, but will only make things better organized and more beautiful for future visitors.

The project has received cautious response from the affected vendors.

"I don't mind as long as it can bring prosperity to us," said Yatmi, a 55-year-old souvenir seller.

Martono, 38, a food vendor, said he was aware of the plan. He said he hoped the project would not evict any vendor because the basic idea was "beautification" of Malioboro.

"We will be glad if Malioboro is renovate but we will oppose any project that will require our eviction," added Mujimin, 27, another vendor.