The former Gorontalo gubernatorial office on Jl. Jenderal Sudirman is currently in a state of neglect. Despite its location in the heart of Gorontalo city, the office complex appears quiet and empty as it is no longer used.

The main building, which once housed the agriculture office, transportation office and tourism office, is now vacant.

From the middle of 2014 until early this year, virtually all the government agencies located in the complex had moved. The remaining tenant is the fire brigade, which occupies a small building in a rear corner of the office complex.

This year, the entire complex will be demolished. The Gorontalo provincial administration will sell the asset to a national property company.

On the plot, an integrated building will be built, including a hospital, hotel and shopping center.

Gorontalo University historian Joni Apriyanto has criticized the plan. According to him, the government should seek other plots, besides the former gubernatorial office, which he deems has historical and sentimental value to the local community.

'€œThe building serves as a historical witness to the formation of Gorontalo province, when it decided to separate from North Sulawesi 14 years ago. The place was where former acting Gorontalo governor Tursandi Alwi and first Gorontalo governor Fadel Muhammad took office for the first time,'€ said Joni.

Despite not being included as a cultural heritage site, he regarded that the building, which was built in the 1970s and had functioned as an auxiliary office of the North Sulawesi governor, was worthy of being maintained and protected.

Besides being used for bureaucratic activities, he added, the building once played witness to the rise of local intellectuals. During the 1980s, the office complex was often used as a place to discuss and conduct research by university students.

'€œMany buildings and historical assets in Gorontalo have been arbitrarily demolished for the sake of development, for example the Aloe Saboe General Hospital, which was converted into a shopping mall and hotel, and the Simpang Lima Monument. Don'€™t repeat the mistake,'€ said Joni.

Cultural Heritage Preservation Center head Syaiful Mujahid, whose center oversees North Sulawesi, Gorontalo and Central Sulawesi, said Law No. 11/2010 on cultural heritage could provide an opportunity to save the building.

He added that the new law allows the provincial administration to regulate and determine assets with historical value on a local scale, despite their cultural heritage status. However, special studies are required. '€œThe provincial administration can form an expert team to do research and collaborate with us,'€ said Syaiful.

Separately, Gorontalo Governor Rusli Habibie has set the development project to commence this year.

He said his office and the provincial council had recently conducted a comparable study in Palembang, South Sumatra, and Makassar, South Sulawesi.

'€œThe study was aimed at learning the quality of services as well as the amount of contribution it could give to the province,'€ Rusli told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

However, he acknowledged that there was no agreement on the price and sale mechanisms of the asset thus far.

'€œFor certain, action will start this year. The price and mechanisms are still in the assessment stage,'€ said Rusli.

Popular

RI, Australia strengthen partnership on taxing crypto assets

Analysis: Indonesia denies normalization with Israel to enter OECD

Citroen to produce electric cars in Indonesia