Old monikers are here to stay

Niken Prathivi ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Fri, 10/16/2009 3:10 PM  |  City

Like any big city around the world, Jakarta has areas and roads named after a building, a specific place or local industry. However, due to rapid city development, many businesses are moving, leaving their names to the given area.

The Coca-Cola intersection, which crisscrosses Jl. Ahmad Yani, Jl. Perintis Kemerdekaan and Jl. Let. Jend. Suprapto, for example, is no longer the address of the structure it adopted its name from.

However, in the 1980s, a Coca-Cola factory was there. The factory shut down and moved elsewhere, leaving French franchise retail giant Carrefour to take over the site in the late 1990s.

Esbby Rachael, 26, who lives in Rawamangun in East Jakarta, a few kilometers away from the intersection, said people still identify the intersection by the soft drink's name.

"We got used to *calling the junction Coca-Cola*. Even some bus drivers and their crews know it by that name," she said.

She said the Coca-Cola intersection was a notorious area rife with street crime.

"It's getting safer now due to better lighting in the evenings thanks to the Cempaka Mas Trade Center. Traffic congestion in the area has also eased thanks to the opening of overpasses in the past few years."

Formerly Jakarta's red-light district, Kramat Tunggak, North Jakarta, has also found it hard to shake off its name or its checkered reputation. Despite efforts to improve the area's image, many people still use the name Kramat Tunggak.

In a bid to localize the unsavory industry, the brothel area was developed during the tenure of former Jakarta governor Ali Sadikin in 1972. It was named after a sacred monument built during the rule of fifth-century King Purnawarman, in the hope of discouraging people from frequenting it.

The construction of the red-light district faced strong opposition from Muslim groups and leaders, but left Sadikin unperturbed. Pragmatically, he thought it was easier to control prostitution when it was localized, not scattered around the city. Prostitution in the area boomed, thanks to its proximity to Tanjung Priok Port.

However, after long and incessant protests from Muslim groups and leaders, former governor Sutiyoso eventually gave in, ordering the demolition of the compound. To expel the brothels from the area and from the memory of Jakartans, the Sutiyoso administration built the Jakarta Islamic Center on the 10.9-hectare piece of land.

A resident of the area, Herda Everdyn, said that the replacement had changed the image of Kramat Tunggak.

"Some people now call it the Islamic Center, others still call it Kramat Tunggak," she said. "The place is still a meeting point, but now mostly for religious purposes, of course."

Nevertheless, Herda said that she thinks prostitution is still there, albeit more subtle.

"When the complex was shut down, Sutiyoso did not send all the sex workers away. Some of them received skill courses, such as knitting or makeup training to work in a beauty salon, while others found a way to maintain their *businesses'.

"Officers once caught them roaming and operating again. So I think underground prostitution is still happening," she added.

Across town in East Jakarta, Jl. Dewi Sartika in Cililitan, Cawang, was renowned for its shops selling cooking wares such as aluminium pans and traditional baking ovens. As such, the area adopted the name panci (pans). Over time, the panci sellers moved out of the area which is now dominated by apartment buildings.

As a token of the past, the bus stop on Jl. Otto Iskandar Dinata, located adjacent to Jl. Dewi Sartika, still bears the name Panci.

City landscape observer Nirwono Joga says he laments that city landmarks in Jakarta have been removed from the map for the sake of development.

"The *Panci' bus station is a good example. It's a shame to lose the cottage industries that once existed because such local activity could boost an area through tourism.

"Jakarta is growing into a warped perception of modernity. I think if Jakarta wants to be called a real modern city it should provide proper facilities for the public, green areas and tourist attractions," he added.

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