Jokowi Calls for Urgent Rebuilding of Batik Market in Hometown of Solo

Jakarta Globe, Ari Susanto, Jan 02, 2015

President Joko Widodo meets with residents and business owners during a visit
at Pasar Klewer in Solo, Central Java, on Dec. 31, 2014. (Antara Photo/Andika Betha)

Solo. President Joko Widodo has urged officials in the Central Java town of Solo, where he served seven years as mayor, to immediately rebuild the famed Pasar Klewer batik market, which was razed by a fire last weekend.

The reconstruction of the historical market will be jointly funded by the city, the province and the central government, Joko said during a visit to the site on New Year’s Eve. He added he could not yet determine how much funding Jakarta would give until the Solo administration had submitted a request for the money.

“We’ll work together to rebuild the market. The city and the province will share the cost, and the central government will add to it. I’ve ordered the city to start the renovation as soon as possible,” the president told reporters.

He also spoke to market traders during his visit and promised a quick response to the issue, and called on the Solo mayor, F.X. Hadi Rudyatmo — Joko’s deputy when he was mayor from 2005 to 2012 — to immediately provide a temporary location where the traders could resume doing business.

Joko’s visit came a day after Vice President Jusuf Kalla and Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo visited the fire-gutted market building.

The market, famed as the biggest trading hub for batik in Indonesia, and the busiest market in terms of daily transaction values after Tanah Abang in Jakarta, burned down on the night of Dec. 27, following a suspected electrical short circuit in one of the stalls.

Police are still investigating the cause of the blaze.

Mayor Hadi Rudyatmo has estimated that a restoration will cost some Rp 136 billion ($10.9 million). He has also had to fend of rumors that the fire was deliberately set to allow the city administration to bring in a private developer for the restoration, after some traders alleged that the city had been trying for years to get them to leave.

For now, the traders, who recorded daily transactions of more than Rp 10 billion when still operating at the two-story Pasar Klewer, will be moved to Solo’s historical Vastenburg Fort and the town square, known as alun-alun, pending the rebuilding of the market, which is expected to take a year.

The relocation cost alone is expected to amount to Rp 28 billion.

Pasar Klewer was the central exchange for vendors and buyers of batik in the heartland of the traditional cloth, with the fabrics coming from Solo, Yogyakarta, Sragen, Sukoharjo, Pekalongan, Cirebon and Lasem.

The market, which began during the Japanese occupation in World War Two, also hosted vendors of other traditional local crafts and products, including wood furniture, carved mirror frames, and cut-glass ornaments.