City landmark bathes in light

Light up the city: Dancers rehearse before performing at the launch of an event illuminating the National Monument (Monas) in Central Jakarta on Wednesday evening. The project is a joint effort between the Jakarta city administration and Royal Philips Electronics to support energy saving by using LED lamps for Monas.(R. Berto Wedhatama)

From Wednesday evening, Jakartans can enjoy the chameleon illumination of the city landmark, the National Monument (Monas).

Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo officiated the first public display of the grandiose lighting over the 300-meter tower at 9 p.m. on Wednesday.

Initiated by the Indonesian subsidiary of electronic giant Royal Philips Electronics, the illumination was aimed at educating the public on the importance of light in providing the city a sense of comfort and security while saving energy at the same time.

"It is crucial to raise public awareness on energy saving and to switch to advanced lighting technology," said Philips Indonesia senior marketing manager Ryan Tirta Yudhistira.

The illumination used Philips Light-Emitting Diode (LED) Colorich PowerCore that can gives off light equivalent to 2500 Watts, or only one fourth of the energy usurped by the current bulbs used in Monas, and can last up to 40 years.

Expert on sustainable development from Trisakti University, Jimmy Juwana, said that the government should pay more attention to switching to energy-saving lighting.

"By saving more energy on city lighting, the power company could distribute more electricity to households," he said.

Project leader Riris said that the illumination will be switched on from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m.

"It will give off a majestic ivory-colored lighting on weekdays and rainbow colors during weekend to attract more visitors. We will use red and white lighting to commemorate Independence Day on Aug. 18 and green to celebrate Idul Fitri," she said. (nvn)