Two of the capital’s busiest streets, Jl. Mampang Raya and Jl. Buncit Raya, have been renamed Jl. Jendral Besar Dr. AH Nasution by the Jakarta administration in honor of national hero Abdul Haris Nasution.

In its circular on Monday, the South Jakarta Mayoralty announced that Jl. Jendral Besar Dr. Abdul Haris Nasution spans a section of road from the crossroads of Jl. HR Rasuna Said in Kuningan and Jl. Gatot Subroto to Jl. TB Simatupang. It also set a timeframe of 30 days from Jan. 18 to familiarize people with the new name.

The streets, previously known as Jl. Mampang Raya and Jl. Buncit Raya, are two of the capital’s busiest main roads and often said to be the main points of traffic congestion in Jakarta.

The renaming was proposed by Ikatan Keluarga Nasution (Association of the Nasutions), said South Jakarta Mayor Tri Kurniadi on Tuesday as quoted by kompas.com.

Tri said the proposal had been submitted to Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan.

Separately, Anies approved the proposal, saying Nasution was one of Indonesia’s most significant military figures. “He was an important figure in protecting Pancasila […] and he is one of the few generals who wrote down his war experiences in a book, which is now widely referenced [at military schools],” he said at City Hall.

Nasution was an army general who escaped a kidnapping attempt that resulted in the eventual murder of six Indonesian Army generals on Sept. 30, 1965, in a coup d’etat that was blamed on the Indonesia Communist Party (PKI).

The kidnappers instead abducted his adjutant, Capt. Pierre Andreas Tendean. Nasution’s daughter, Ade Irma Suryani, was also killed during the incident.

Nasution, who died in 2000, was posthumously awarded the national hero title in 2002.

He wrote several books on his war experiences, including Pokok-Pokok Gerilya (The Fundamentals of Guerrilla Warfare), which recorded his experiences in fighting and organizing guerrilla during the Indonesian War of Independence.

“Although he was an important figure […] his name has not been used as a street name,” said Anies, referring to the tradition of honoring national heroes by naming streets after them.

Streets have been named after Nasution in the past, including one in Mandalajati district, Bandung, West Java.

Meanwhile, historian JJ Rizal lamented the name change, saying that the previous names of the streets were part of the city’s history and needed to be preserved.

“Mampang refers to a tree, which may no longer exist in the area now. With a lack of open green space in the city, the tree might not be able to grow here, but at least its name should preserved,” Rizal said, referring to Jalu Mampang, the name of the tree.

According to one source, the use of Warung Buncit has existed since the 19th century. The name Warung Buncit comes from a Chinese man named Bun Tjit who ran a warung (kiosk) in the area. Bun Tjit was said to often mingle with the Betawi people.

“It proves one thing, that the Betawi people, like in Muslim culture, accepted Chinese people in that era,” Rizal said.

“The city administration should preserve the street names as they were originally to maintain long-existing local wisdom.” (gis)

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