“Every time my relatives from Medan [North Sumatra] come to visit me, they always want to go to Monas. ‘We want to see Jakarta’ they said,” Juraida, a Bekasi resident, told The Jakarta Post during her recent tenth visit to the National Monument, known as Monas that is encircled by an 80-hectare park, in Central Jakarta.

That is probably what’s on most people’s minds during their first visit to Jakarta: You haven’t visited Jakarta if you haven’t seen the city’s most famous landmark.

The 132-meter high monument building, built in 1961 to commemorate the nation’s struggle for independence, is home to Indonesia’s most important historical memento, including a copy of the proclamation of independence text and the recorded voice of the country’s first president Sukarno reading the text on Aug. 17, 1945, stored in a bullet-proof glass case.

On top of the monument is “the Flame of Independence”, made from 14.5 tons of bronze coated by 50 kilograms of gold foil.

A teacher at Dharma Khalsa elementary school in North Jakarta, Ria, who brought her students to Monas recently, said that the monument was a good place for students to learn about Indonesian history.

“They are so excited to learn about history outside the classroom,” she said.

The monument’s 80-hectare compound, which is visited by around 1,500 people on weekdays and up to 3,000 visitors on weekends, has also become a spot for prostitution and illegal street vendors, prompting the city administration to spend Rp 8.7 billion (US$ 983,100) on fencing-in the complex in 2002.

However, the controversial fencing decision did not ease the security issues in the area. Missing children, vehicles accessing the site and fraud cases are still reported to take place within the compound.

Dewi Citrowati, a mother of two, said that she was worried about security in the park.

“On weekends, there are kids everywhere! Most parents are usually busy with their own business, having lunch, or a massage,” she said.

In a bid to improve the area’s safety, the Central Jakarta administration has deployed dozens of public order officers, the number of which is increased on weekends.

Djunaedi, a police officer at the western Monas police post, said that one or two on-duty officers from western and eastern police posts patrol the complex every hour.

“We patrol the area round the clock. However, parents are still responsible for their children,” he said.

To spruce up the monument, the Monas management unit is planning to scrub up the tower.

Rini Hariyani, the unit’s head, said the city administration is planning to clean the monument.

Rini confirmed that German manufacturer Karcher, famous for its pressurized air-cleaning systems, and which was responsible for cleaning the monument in 1992, would carry out the cleaning process again.

“It [the intended cleaning] is part of Karcher’s corporate social responsibility program, so we don’t have to pay a single cent,” she said.

Rini added that the company would inspect Monas this week to determine the preferred cleaning method, which it would then present to Governor Fauzi Bowo.

“I hope that the cleaning process will be carried out this year,” she said, adding that the process would take two to four weeks to complete.

“I will consult with the governor and the head of the tourism agency as to whether the process will be open to the public as an attraction, or not. It depends on safety considerations,” Rini said. (swd)

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