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Kota Tua 'needs time', but Ahok wants quick fix
Jakarta Old Town Revitalization Corporation (JOTRC) CEO Lin Che Wei has defended his efforts to preserve Kota Tua after Jakarta Governor Basuki âAhokâ Tjahaja Purnama said progress was âtoo slowâ
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akarta Old Town Revitalization Corporation (JOTRC) CEO Lin Che Wei has defended his efforts to preserve Kota Tua after Jakarta Governor Basuki 'Ahok' Tjahaja Purnama said progress was 'too slow'.
Restoration of heritage sites, Lin said, required painstaking care, and was not as simple as merely 'painting the building's walls'.
Ahok said recently he was disappointed with the JOTRC consortium's performance. 'It has only renovated its own buildings. The only progress after years has been the restoration of a couple of building,' he told reporters at City Hall. 'I want to see immediate changes in the area,' the governor added.
Preservation of Kota Tua, Lin said, was not a simple matter, as the architects needed to learn the buildings' history. To maintain the historical value of a site, he added, restoration must not be limited to the facade, but must include the interior as well. 'The governor want us just to paint the buildings' walls because it would be faster and look better from the outside. We can't do that. Restoration has to cover the interior too,' Lin told The Jakarta Post recently.
Lin said he and Ahok disagreed on several matters, leading to his decision to resign his position at PT Pembangunan Kota Tua Jakarta (PKTJ), a consortium of nine companies including PT Agung Podomoro Group, PT Intiland, PT Plaza Indonesia Realty and PT Agung Sedayu. Established in 2013, the consortium aims to restore the functions of 85 historical buildings in Kota Tua at a cost of trillions of rupiah.
Lin said differences over the revitalization of the old town were among the reasons he had decided to step down from his post at PKTJ.
'The governor asked some of the companies to contribute to the preservation of Kota Tua through their corporate social responsibility funds. However, some of the companies told me that wasn't possible,' Lin continued.
He stressed that despite his resignation from PKTJ, he would continue to work on the preservation of Kota Tua carried out by JOTRC and the Jakarta Endowment for Art and Heritage (JEFORAH). PKTJ and JOTRC were separate entities, he added.
In December, JOTRC and JEFORAH inaugurated the newly revitalized Chung Hwa chemist building. During the inauguration event, Lin said restoration work was also complete on the post office building and a building at Jl. Malaka No. 7-9.
He explained that JOTRC was still waiting for UNESCO to decide whether to add Kota Tua to its World Heritage list. 'The completed dossiers were submitted on Jan. 26, and we're still waiting for the announcement,' he said.
Contacted separately, renowned architect Budi Lim confirmed that he would help the Jakarta administration to revive Kota Tua as a community center, beginning in the near future with the revitalization of the banks of the Besar Barat River.
Budi said that the revitalization would transform the area into a multilayer public park where Jakartans could exercise, study or gather to socialize.
'I want people from all walks of life to come to Kali Besar Park,' Budi, who also played an important role in the revitalization of Taman Fatahillah in Kota Tua, told the Post.
