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Jakarta's historic Buddhist temple gets a go from Ahok for reconstruction
A man prays in the Dharma Bhakti Temple in Petak Sembilan, Glodok in West Jakarta
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span class="inline inline-center">A man prays in the Dharma Bhakti Temple in Petak Sembilan, Glodok in West Jakarta. The foundation of the oldest temple in the capital will soon rebuild it after it burned down in March last year. (Kompas.com/Fitri Prawitasari)
The foundation of the historic Dharma Bhakti Temple in Glodok of West Jakarta will soon rebuild its burned structure following a green light given by Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama, who vows the temple will not be affected by the city's road expansion plan.
The chairman of the Dharma Bhakti Temple Foundation, Tan Adipranata, said on Tuesday that he is relieved the city administration would spare the temple, which is located in Jakarta's Chinatown of Petak Sembilan, from being harmed by the construction project.
"Ahok said that this temple is cultural heritage, therefore the city administration exempts the temple from the road widening project," he said at City Hall after meeting Ahok in order to report on obstacles blocking the temple's reconstruction.
Tan said that the groundbreaking ceremony for the temple would be held on Jan. 18. The foundation used its own funds for the reconstruction of the building that burned down in March last year. Tan gave no details on how much money was needed, but he said it was made up of contributions from the temple's congregation.
Similarly to Tan, Ahok said that the Dharma Bhakti Temple had been recognized as part of the city's cultural heritage since 1972 and he supported it being rebuilt.
The city administration would provide a construction license to help accelerate the project.
'They asked us to provide a license fast and I told them, 'Build it quickly'," he told journalists.
The Dharma Bhakti Temple was built in 1650 and was originally named the Guo Xun Guan Temple to honor a Buddhist priest .
It was the biggest temple in Jakarta before it was destroyed by a fire that engulfed it in the early morning of March 2, 2015. (rin)(+)
