T

he city administration has approved its first bylaw of the year, regulating the preservation of Betawi culture.

The bylaw mandates the city administration to carry out programs to preserve Betawi culture by, among others, developing a Betawi museum and cultural center and making a record of Betawi history, culture and language.

'€œIn accordance with this bylaw, the city administration will carry out measures to preserve Betawi culture and teach it to residents. In return, residents must participate in preserving Betawi culture,'€ Hamidi AR said during a plenary session to approve the bylaw on Thursday.

The bylaw states that the city administration must establish a 20-year plan to preserve Betawi culture. The plan includes policies, targets and strategies to preserve the culture, as well as cooperation with residents and the budget needed to carry out the plan. The bylaw also encourages residents'€™ participation by providing input to the city administration.

The city administration in cooperation with historians and residents must also make a clear official documentation of Betawi history, culture and language. The city must also include Betawi culture in the regional curriculum for elementary and junior high school.

Betawi historians have lauded the bylaw, viewing it as a stepping stone for the city to preserve the fading Betawi culture.

Historian Yahya Andi Saputra, who was also involved in drafting the bylaw, said that it was something Betawi residents had longed for.

'€œWe are overjoyed [...] Many Betawi historians including myself have discussed the importance of cultural preservation in Jakarta,'€ Yahya told The Jakarta Post.

He said that to date, the city administration had no clear record and documentation of Jakarta'€™s history and language.

'€œIt'€™s important for residents to understand the history of the city where they live. Unfortunately, the city administration has yet to make a clear historical record,'€ Yahya said.

He added that the city administration must wholly implement the bylaw, as many residents still did not understand it fully.

'€œWithout implementation, this bylaw is just words on paper,'€ Yahya said.

Another historian Ridwan Saidi said that Jakarta was late compared to other provinces such as Yogyakarta, West Java and Riau, all of which regulated cultural preservation years before.

'€œIt is better late than never,'€ Ridwan said, adding that much of the general public'€™s understanding of Jakarta'€™s history was false.

For example he said, residents assume that 16th century leader Prince Jayakarta'€™s grave is located in Jatinegara Kaum, East Jakarta. In reality, Ridwan said that Prince Jayakarta'€™s grave is located in Kampung Kamasan Serang, Banten. '€œWe must prevent historical misunderstandings like this, thus it is very important to implement this bylaw,'€ Ridwan said.