Jakarta Globe, Nadia Yusuf, December 11, 2012
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| Kota Tua features almost 200 historic buildings, but many owners are reluctant to restore the old structures. (JG Photo/Nadia Yusuf) |
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Strolling
through Jakarta’s crumbling yet cultural Kota Tua, it’s easy to see the
potential of transforming the area into a hub for tourists and citizens alike.
Unfortunately, as it currently stands now, the former colonial city is failing
to reach its full potential.
Though it
does contain some interesting sites, especially its museums, the buildings are
in dire need of restoration. Kota Tua contains 182 old edifices, but many
owners are reluctant to renovate them due to excessive bureaucratic regulations
surrounding the process.
Fortunately,
Jakarta Deputy Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama recently announced during a
meeting with stakeholders that he was prepared to allot Rp 150 billion ($15.5
million) to revitalize the area. He also noted that he will commence plans to
renovate the area to “look like Venice” and become Jakarta’s historical center
by 2014.
With Kota’s
rich cultural history and ambitious renovation plans in mind, my friends and I
decided to make a day out of touring the old city by foot, accompanied by
Kartum Setiawan, chairman of Komunitas Jelajah Budaya, an organization focused
on promoting cultural art and historical sites around Jakarta. We wanted to see
what it looks like now while imagining what would happen if Basuki’s plans are
realized.
Kota Tua,
also known as Old Batavia, spans 1.3 square kilometers and was previously
dubbed “the Queen of the East” by European sailors in the early 16th century.
Built around a canal system, the Dutch government mainly utilized the city as a
base for commerce and military defense, as well as an administrative center.
The walls that used to contain the city have since been torn down, but Kota
still maintains its original design, making it relatively simple to navigate
compared with the rest of Jakarta.
Over time,
the capital’s city center was gradually repositioned further south toward the
National Monument area in Central Jakarta’s Merdeka Square, but the antiquated
remnants of the Dutch architecture in Kota Tua remain intact — some buildings
are abandoned, while others have been converted into museums, banks, offices
and commercial stores.
We started
our journey at Museum Mandiri — an art deco building originally built in 1929
for the Dutch Factorij Nederlandsche Handel Maatschappij, or the Netherlands
Trading Corporation. NHM shipped and sold commodities, though it eventually
progressed from commerce into banking.
Bank
Mandiri later acquired the building and has transformed the former factory into
a museum dedicated to Indonesia’s banking system in the 1930s. Located across
Stasiun Kota, Museum Mandiri was designed by J. de Bruyn, A.P Smits and C. Van
der Linde. Admission to the museum is free.
We found
our way in quite easily and were greeted by two statues of old guards in
colonial garb and a display that simulated a Dutch teller. The original black,
gray and red tiles still adorn the floor, while a large, well preserved ledger
showing company accounts between 1833-1837 is on display in the middle of the
room. The museum also dedicated an area to the Chinese clients, who were
holders of large plantations and trade companies at the time.
The
basement houses a safe deposit vault, a cash room, individual lockers and old
bank documents such as deposit slips, checks and stock certificates. In one
room, pieces of tram tracks that were torn down during the time of Sukarno’s
administration are displayed, showing what Kota Tua could have been like today
if the tram was still around.
A
computerized map in the museum compares and contrasts old Batavia with today’s
Kota, showing the gradual construction of the city and its canals over time.
As it was a
Sunday, the terrace gardens accommodated small local bands that have been
playing in rotation since early last month.
We made our
way through the noise and up the stairs to the top floor, passing by stained
glass windows made by Cornelis de Houtman, the first Dutch captain to set his
sails for Indonesia.
The upper
floor of the museum showcases old layouts of boardrooms, antique furniture,
calculating machines, manual presses and old currencies.
“If you
want to see a currency collection more extensive than this, you will have to
visit Museum Bank Indonesia, but this museum is the only one that displays old
banking documents,” explained Kartum as we headed down on a mahogany wood lift.
We made our way out of the museum toward Kali Besar by way of Jl. Pintu Besar
Utara, passing by Bank Indonesia.
“Most of
these old buildings are properties owned by Bank Mandiri that were acquired
overtime through the merging of the different banks,” Kartum noted while
guiding us through the roads.
Straight
roads and stone pavement from when the streets were first built are still
perfectly intact throughout the district. If you factor out the cleanliness and
frantic traffic, the walk easily resembles walking along the old city in
Singapore.
We stopped
by the bridge on Kali Besar to take in the view. Considering all of the
floating garbage and the strong odor emanating from the water, the fact that it
was once used by the Dutch as a canal system and means of getting around seems
so unlikely nowadays. We tried to imagine how beautiful it could be if it was
sanitized and illuminated at night.
Our group
strolled through the sides of the canal, passing by old colonial houses and
office buildings. Some were dilapidated former printing houses with chipped
paint and corroded brick walls. Wooden benches sit underneath trees on the
sides of the canal.
We stopped
in front of the newly restored Toko Merah, a building located on the west side
of Kali Besar. The building, known for its red facade, was constructed in the
1730s, making it one of the oldest buildings in Jakarta. It served as the Dutch
Naval Academy, which is believed to be the oldest Naval Academy in Asia. It
then was converted to a residence for several governor generals of Batavia. Now
a conference hall and commercial gallery, it hosted Basuki when he spoke about
the area’s future restoration plans.
“Lets walk
towards Museum Fatahillah,” Kartum suggested, as we moved forward to the
pedestrian-only area. Hawkers, side squatters and vendors lined the roads
leading to the square where the museum is located.
A large
stone fountain in the center of the square could easily be Jakarta’s version of
the Fontana di Trevi in Italy.
I imagined
how wonderful it could be if the whole district was fully restored. If the area
was cleaned and the hawkers were relocated to a collective market, the area
could be a cultural hub of sorts, a center much like Amsterdam Square with
museums, art schools, renovated antique hotels and a tree-lined boat canal with
wooden benches to lounge on during a sunny day.
Previous
governors have planned to restore the old city, but as admitted by a source in
the government who wished to remain anonymous, a lack of coordination between
different governmental agencies and excessive bureaucratic hierarchy caused
delays in the implementation of a master plan.
Perhaps
granting permits for commercial development, with strict regulations for the
preserving architectural heritage of the city in conjunction with supervision
from Ikatan Arsitektur Indonesia could be an effective method for restoring
Kota.
If it is
continuously and properly maintained, Kota Tua has the potential to change
Jakarta for the better for generations to come.
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