Mariani Dewi, The Jakarta Post, Tangerang | Sun, 12/07/2008 10:48 AM
Two buildings dating back over 100 years on the bank of the Cisadane river in Karawaci, Tangerang, have been demolished despite outcry from heritage preservation groups that the houses have high architectural and cultural value.
On Saturday morning the right wing of the Chinese house and part of the main building were already in ruins with the other sections to come down in coming weeks.
An Indisch-style building adjacent to the Chinese house now awaits the same fate, as the buyer has made arrangements to sell-off sections of it to collectors in Bali and Pondok Gede, East Jakarta.
The current owners of the properties, built in approximately the 18th century and belonging once to Chinese Lieutenant Oei Djie San, are selling the plot and the buildings separately. The land is said to be worth Rp 22 billion (US$1.6 million).
Safii, the contractor who bought the buildings, told The Jakarta Post he paid a total of around Rp 750 million to the owner to cover the cost of removing the building parts.
"I have sold three trucks worth of parts to two buyers in Bali and Pondok Gede (East Jakarta)," he said.
He said after a meeting this Wednesday he would decide when he would destroy the remaining sections.
The land is said to be more than 2 hectares in size and has apparently been sold to another buyer.
"I heard that it was sold for Rp 22 billion," he said.
He allegedly overheard the buyer mention the name McDonald, and that the plot would be turned into an apartment complex.
The owner was nowhere to be found at the building site on Saturday. The Post received confirmation from Rodiawati, a resident who has lived in the buildings for decades, that the property had indeed been sold.
"The house belongs to my husband's ex-bosses' family - the Nubrata family. They let us stay here for free," she said. Rodiawati said they would now be forced to leave.
Budi Lim, a well-known architect involved in the restoration of the National Archive Museum in Jakarta, said both buildings had architectural value due to the unique blend of foreign and local influences in the design.
"Indisch-style has Dutch influence, but also local flavors. The style was then replicated in other colonial territories like Sri Lanka," he said. "The Chinese home might have common Chinese architectural features, but the value is in the local adaptation of Cina Benteng culture, who centered their activity around rivers."
He said the Chinese home was special because it had a veranda overlooking the Cisadane river. Such a design was unheard of and could be related to the history of Cina Benteng in Tangerang. Cina Benteng is a Chinese community whose ancestors were peranakan Chinese Indonesians and mostly rubber plantation workers.
Mahandis Yoanata, a private employee from Jakarta who studies heritage buildings, wrote in his blog mahandisyoanata.multiply.com that papers he found describe how the buildings were part of a rubber plantation during the colonial era.
His article and accompanying pictures of the buildings drew dozens of comments from those sharing his concern about their demolition.
He told the Post he planned on launching a petition and taking it to the Tangerang municipality, but later found out the buildings were not protected by any laws.
Warta Kota daily reported Saturday that the Tangerang municipality not only had no laws to protect the Karawaci buildings, but in fact had no laws in place to protect any heritage buildings.
"We have never met with the heirs of the buildings," the head of the Tangerang tourism agency, Hendarsyah Reza, said to Warta Kota. He said if there were any buildings with historical value being demolished, the administration was powerless to do anything.
Lim, however, called for the administration to intervene despite the absence of a law.
"The building is being *raped', we cannot just stand by and say *what a pity'," Lim said. "It is not too late. This must be a community effort."
"There are so many people who get rich by doing business in Tangerang. It is time to urge them to give something back by chipping in to buy out the buildings and restore them. I am willing to work for free during the restoration," he said.
"Although they appear Chinese and Dutch, essentially the styles were already adapted to the local culture. They are examples of Indonesian architecture. We have a duty to preserve them for future generations."
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