Monday, August 31, 2009

Colonial buildings of Indonesian plantation town left to crumble

Sebenarnya tulisan lama, dikirim Meutia Chaerani lewat milis FDU. Saya ambil lagi karena akhir-akhir ini sering lewat Klaten, dan selalu melewati pabriknya PG Gondang, yang kalau dilihat rasanya kurang terawat.

MEDAN, Indonesia, April 5 (AFP) --

Art deco
homes, Chinese shopfronts, Moorish-inspired landmarks and Malay stilt-houses -- Medan's rich blend of architectural heritage tells the story of its unique history.

But the 600 colonial buildings gracing this city on the jungle-clad Indonesian island of Sumatra, the centre of a plantation boom more than a century ago, is slowly crumbling and activists blame apathy and ignorance.

"Medan, when it comes to old buildings, has reached a critical, worrying stage. We have reached the point where destruction should be halted for good," warns Soehardi Hartono executive director of the non-profit Sumatra Heritage Trust.

Medan's architectural heritage reflects the cosmopolitan nature of its population back in the 19th century, when it began a rapid expansion after tobacco and rubber plantations planted by Dutch settlers flourished on Sumatra.

Dutch and British expatriate families lived in opulent mansions from where they oversaw personal fiefdoms of thousands of Indonesian and migrant plantation workers, while Chinese merchants dominated trade.

Today a fusion of colonial buildings designed by the Dutch as well as British architects -- who came from their own nearby outpost of Penang -- mix with an array of others in this city on the banks of the Deli River.

The western settlers left Medan after Indonesia proclaimed independence from the Dutch in 1945, and their plantations were taken over by the young state. While tobacco continues to be grown in North Sumatra, palm oil has since replaced it as the region's top crop.

This city of some two million people, now Indonesia's fourth largest, remains largely off tourist maps, although glimpses of its more sedate past can still be seen in what remains.

But according to Hartono, less than a fifth of the 600 significant buildings are properly cared for, with the remainder neglected or simply left vacant, putting Medan's living history at risk.

Tavip Kurniadi, who heads the North Sumatra chapter of the Indonesian Association of Architects, says a combination of factors have conspired to threaten the buildings.

"Ignorance on the side of building owners and a lack of political will to preserve those buildings on the part of decision-makers are the core causes behind the ongoing rate of destruction," Kurniadi says.

He says that agencies were aware of the buildings' importance but lacked the power to protect them, with their top officials harbouring no vision for the future -- a complaint echoed around Indonesia, the world's fourth most populous nation, when it comes to urban planning.

"They are thinking short term, and business and economic considerations override other considerations most of the time when it comes to handing out permits and licenses" to pull down or modify buildings, Kurniadi says.

Ketut Wiradnyansa, who heads the government's North Sumatra Archeology Office, counters that compared to other major Indonesian cities, Medan's old buildings are "in general still in relatively good condition".

However, he agrees that stricter enforcement of existing laws is possible.

"We already have laws and regulations, at city, provincial and national levels. They are not perfect but if we could get them strictly enforced, it would represent a great step towards the preservation of the city's cultural and historical heritage," Wiradnyansa says.

But there has been a failure too to follow the spirit of the heritage laws.

For instance the former Bank Modern building, a prominent landmark, was torn down except for its two-storey facade and five new storeys now incongruously protrude upwards behind it.

The 1929-built building by Stork, a Dutch company supplying machinary to various plantation companies here, had been a focal point of Medan's former business district of Kesawan.

"The city authorities argue that the municipal law on protected old buildings only demand that the facade of the buildings in Kesawan be unchanged -- and nothing is mentioned of the inside part," Hartono says.

Nevertheless, Hartono says public awareness about the importance of the city's heritage is gradually growing, with his community-run organisation generating greater interest here.

The municipal administration also plans to survey heritage buildings next year, he says.

The Sumatra Heritage Trust meanwhile is actively lobbying authorities to expand Medan's list of 42 heritage buildings and provide incentives for owners of old buildings to care for them rather than tear them down.

"We have already lost many (of the buildings) and their destruction should not be in vain. Their destruction should become a lesson for us all, that it should be prevented in the future," Hartono says.