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Fatahillah Museum seeks funding for restoration
Authorities of the Fatahillah or Jakarta History Museum are currently seeking additional funding for repairs to the building because of the limited maintenance funding already allocated by the city administration this year
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uthorities of the Fatahillah or Jakarta History Museum are currently seeking additional funding for repairs to the building because of the limited maintenance funding already allocated by the city administration this year.
Old Town management unit (UPT) chief Candrian Attahiyyat on Thursday said the museum was in a dire need of repairs because around one-fifth of the roofs of the two-story building leaked, and more than half of its woodwork was rotten.
“We need to fix them soon so that the roof does not collapse during heavy rains,” Candrian said.
The rotten woodwork could be seen in several doors and windows inside the museum.
“The woodwork is old and has been eaten by termites,” he said.
Candrian said his office would hold a meeting tomorrow with the Jakarta Culture and Tourism Agency and the Netherlands Embassy in Indonesia, to survey the damage and structure of the building.
“We will discuss the level of damage and amount of money needed to repair the building,” he said.
Despite its current condition the museum was still safe for the public and did not need to remove its collections, Candrian said.
Tourism agency chief Arie Budhiman said that his office would propose the additional funding for the restoration plan in the regional budget adjustment for the second half of 2010.
“We expect the restoration work will cost at least cost Rp 6 billion [US$631,578],” Arie said.
The city administration would allocate Rp 1.4 billion, including the existing maintenance funds allocated to Fatahillah Museum this year, he said. “But that is not enough to cover all the repairs needed,” he said.
Beside the maintenance, the money would be used to cover operational costs and salaries of museum employees.
This year, Arie said, his office was prioritizing to repair other historic buildings that were in a worse condition than Fatahillah Museum.
“We are currently repairing Bahari and Thamrin Museums, which will not be finished within one year.”
Arie said he was expecting the city administration to pay more attention to the local heritage by providing more funding to preserve historic buildings.
“We hope all museums in the capital will be restored by 2012,” he said.
The Old Town has 284 heritage buildings — 23 belonging to state-owned companies and 255 belonging to the private sector and individuals.
The Old Town area covers parts of West and North Jakarta, including Sunda Kelapa port and the Old Fish Market.
