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Historic buildings in peril amid changes
All gone: Construction of a four-story office building (left photo) on Jl
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span class="inline inline-center">All gone: Construction of a four-story office building (left photo) on Jl. Pekojan Raya 61 in Tambora, West Jakarta, popularly known as the Kampong Arab area. The new building was built on land where a historical private home, built in the 1920s, was located and eventually demolished. Meanwhile, the old building (right), located on the same road, represents old and historical buildings dating back to the Dutch colonial era, most of which are in bad shape. JP/Sita W. Dewi
A sign in a construction site located on Jl. Pekojan Raya 61 in Kota Tua (Old Town) area in West Jakarta, popularly known as the Kampung Arab, indicates that a four-story office building is about to be built, replacing a historic private home built in the 1920s.
Although the sign declares that the property belongs to Liaw Tjin Tjhong, several local residents claimed that they did not know the current owner.
According to the Indonesia History Community, the bulldozed private home had been granted cultural heritage status and was supposed to have been preserved.
'The old building bore the character of Moorish architecture,' Indonesia History Community founder Asep Kambali told The Jakarta Post recently.
Asep pointed out that two old buildings in the Kampung Arab had been bulldozed recently, adding to a long list of buildings with cultural heritage status in the capital that have been demolished or converted for commercial purposes.
'Though it was owned by individuals, the destruction of the buildings is a great loss to all of us,' Asep said.
Kampung Arab's history dates to the colonial era, when the Dutch colonial government set it up as the center for immigrantsfrom Hadhramaut or South Yemen before they departed for other areas.
A number of old mosques built in the 1700s or 1800s, including the An-Nawier Mosque (1749) and the Langgar Tinggi Mosque (1829), can still be found in the area and still function according to their original design.
Although the area was inhabited mostly by Arabs, now only 25 percent of the current residents are of Arab descent, while the remaining are mostly of Chinese descent.
Local resident Yusuf, who has lived in the Kampung Arab since 1964, pointed out that many of the original owners of old properties had left the area. 'Some of them have moved abroad or outside the city,' he said.
Yusuf admitted that a number of old buildings in the area had been converted for various purposes, but declined to comment on the matter. 'There's always pros and cons about this issue,' he said.
Property ownership, along with many other challenges, including rapid infrastructure development, property tax rates and the indifference of the relevant authorities, have been blamed for the number of deteriorating historic buildings in Jakarta.
'Many historic buildings in the area were owned by individuals, who have faced challenges such as increasing property tax, as well as high maintenance costs. This is such a cliché dilemma faced in efforts to preserve historic buildings,' Asep said.
However, Asep continued by saying that, 'I deplore the authorities' indifference on the matter. I lamented the property supervisory agency's decision to issue a permit to demolish and replace the historic building with a modern building,' he said.
Deputy governor for tourism and culture Sylviana Murni said that all legal building permits had been discussed in intensive meetings involving relevant authorities.
'Should that happen legally, there must have been a legal explanation,' she said.
Asep also called on the city administration to resort to a win-win solution to save other historic buildings from demolition.
'The city can give tax leniency to individual owners of historic buildings or introduce a scheme in which the owners can remain the legal owners of the buildings while the city takes over the maintenance and management,' he said.
Sylviana said that the city already provided such options, with terms and conditions.
'The owners must apply to the city for tax leniency and then undergo hearings. We have a team of assessors who will decide whether or not the owners deserve tax leniency. The city is willing to give up to a 50 percent discount in property tax should the [historic] buildings fulfill the criteria,' she told the Post.
The city administration and the Jakarta Old Town Revitalization Corporation (JOTRC), a consortium of private and state-owned enterprises, is currently preparing to nominate Kota Tua as a UNESCO world heritage site.
The historic Old Town area is divided into several zones, including Fatahillah, Sunda Kelapa, Chinatown and the Kampung Arab.
