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Richard Safkaur: Working for tradition and illumination
(JP/Markus Makur)A communal house named Gendang Wewo stands impressively in Wewo hamlet, Manggarai regency, East Nusa Tenggara
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(JP/Markus Makur) (JP/Markus Makur)
(JP/Markus Makur)
A communal house named Gendang Wewo stands impressively in Wewo hamlet, Manggarai regency, East Nusa Tenggara. For the community of Manggarai, this building is a symbol of unification for the entire population of Wewo.
Locally known as a hekang gendang, a meeting house for the community, it is special because various ritual ceremonies, customary events and receptions for guests are held in the building. It is also the place for the settlement of community problems in the whole of Manggarai, including the hamlet.
'The construction of the communal house, Gendang Wewo, was meant as an appreciation of the status and dignity of the villagers living around the geothermal power generator of Ulumbu, located on the communal land of Wewo. I carried out the plan because Gendang Wewo can resolve social issues, settle customary matters and realize the geothermal potential of Ulumbu,' Richard Safkaur told The Jakarta Post recently.
Richard Safkaur, 49, manager of state electricity company PT PLN in East Nusa Tenggara, who is originally from Sorong, West Papua, handed over the keys to Gendang Wewo in a ceremony to mark the opening of the communal house in Wewo on Nov. 15.
Safkaur explained that Gendang Wewo was built to respond to the wishes local people expressed to State-Owned Enterprises (BUMN) Minister Dahlan Iskan in 2011 when he inaugurated the Ulumbu geothermal power plant, which has a capacity of 2x2.5 megawatts and illuminates the regencies of Manggarai and East Manggarai. East Nusa Tenggara PLN fulfilled the Wewo people's aspirations by starting construction on the building that September.
'Gendang Wewo was promised by BUMN Minister Dahlan Iskan when he had a dialogue with Wewo residents following the opening of the Ulumbu power plant in 2011. Local people had given up their communal land for the geothermal power generator, so East Nusa Tenggara PLN had to build the communal house sought by the hamlet residents,' he said.
According to Safkaur, the term hekang gendang in Manggarai is almost the same as para-para in Papua, which is a sacred place for the discussion and solution of community issues as well as the observance of customary rituals in villages. The erection of Gendang Wewo that he helped expedite was part of the corporate social responsibility (CSR) of East Nusa Tenggara PLN under his management.
Safkaur said the community of Wewo had for 10 years struggled to have a well built meeting place of its own. Now with the fulfillment of the Wewo residents' dreams, he claimed to be reminded of his home village in Sorong. 'I also come from a village. This communal house is used to serve public interests and maintain the traditions handed down by their ancestors,' he said.
It cost Rp208 million (US$17,347) to build Gendang Wewo, which was entirely handled by the local community, with the funds made available in phases by PLN until it was finished in November.
East Nusa Tenggara PLN has proposed a capacity expansion for the Ulumbu power generator so that in 2014 it will cover the regencies of Ngada and West Manggarai. Six micro-hydro power generators are being built in other locations including Southwest Sumba, West Sumba, East Sumba and Larantuka.
Safkaur also cited PLN's Super Extra Energy Saving program and Solar Power Generator program, which provide electricity for areas in the region that previously were without lighting.
'I enjoy doing my tasks by touring all remote parts of East Nusa Tenggara. I feel satisfied that the basic electricity needs of the regional population have been met,' he said.
He said that while working with PLN, he had held different posts; as head of the branches in Jayapura, Sorong, Kalimantan, Pangkal Pinang and back to Papua as deputy general manager of Papua PLN, before being named general manager of East Nusa Tenggara PLN.
The father-of-three is a law graduate from Jayapura's Cenderawasih University. After graduation he applied for jobs as a diplomat, an employee of the national television station TVRI and with PLN. He passed all three institutions' admission tests but he finally decided to choose PLN.
'I've served PLN for 20 years now. Before Jayapura, I was first assigned to the Bandung PLN distribution office in West Java. My choice of PLN was based on the simple reason that the state electricity company supplies the basic infrastructure for economic, educational and public welfare promotion,' he said.
PLN in the province has so far provided 21 regencies and a municipality with electricity to light up their population settlements. During his two-year service in East Nusa Tenggara, Safkaur has increased PLN's output from the previous 12-hour operation to the present 24-hour operation.
