Indonesia Falling Behind on Preserving History

In Singapore and Malaysia, heritage areas have been bringing in tourist dollars for decades.

However in the Old Dutch areas of the Indonesian capital, there are very few foreign visitors and the buildings are falling apart. 

It’s a lost opportunity for a city many tourists avoid. 

“We’re very interested in the old places here. Some are very beautiful but some things are very old and need renovation,” says Flora Haijkens. 

Jan Haijkens adds that “Many of these old buildings are in a very poor state at the moment. So that’s a pity.”

They’re both from Holland.

They left Indonesia 20 years ago and had looked forward to returning. 

However walking around Jakarta’s Old Dutch city, or Kota Tua, they have found it in a sad state of disrepair.

“Not only the buildings but also the environment. If you look in the canals it’s terrible what you see and I think it would a big improvement if the canals could be cleaned up and if they could be maintained. The climate is nice and the people are nice and they are resourceful. They could make it a lot much better place even than now.”

Today there are more cats in Kota Tua than there are tourists. 

Walking in the first thing you notice is the burnt out buildings, the falling in roofs and just the general sense of disrepair and age.

Other countries in south-east Asia have used their colonial heritage to boost tourism. 

Visitors to Singapore have almost tripled since they began renovating old British and Chinese areas in the 1990s.

In 2011, 13 million people visited Singapore while just over half that number visited Indonesia.  And most of those people went to Bali. 

Subrianto has been renting bikes out in the Old City of Jakarta for the past 5 years.

“The old city is rich in history. If the government appreciates history then this place should be restored and repaired. This one of the country’s source of income and usually the highest sector is tourism. If these buildings were not here, then probably the tourists wouldn’t come here anymore. The government has to pay more attention to this area, and preserve this cultural site.”

School student Sari is on an excursion to the area. 

She wishes more Indonesians would come here.

“We should preserve our culture because foreign cultures are taking over, globalization. Like dances. Now the way young people dance is more western. Indonesian dances are pushed aside. I want to preserve my culture. I am also in an organization that does that. We have to love Indonesia.”

The new governor of Jakarta says he plans to renovate this area promote tourism and create a new artistic class in the city.

These promises have been made in the past and little has been done.

The Indonesian Heritage Society known as I-H-S is one organisation fighting to preserve culture treasures like the old city. 

But it’s not just about preserving old buildings. They also try to educate Indonesians about their history.

Korinnick Lemarie is the chairman of the society.

“I’m very happy and proud of defending Indonesia. As every emerging country jumps from one period of time to a more modern one, the gap can make it hard to keep the culture. Because of course all the population is orientated toward money and survival and growth. So culture can be a luxury.”

Valerie Pivon is a volunteer with the society. She gives tours in English and French at the Jakarta National Museum.

“I discovered the IHS association which offers a lot of opportunities to discover the culture of Indonesia. I was first a follower, I wanted to go to the visits organised by IHS, and then the more I discovered the more I wanted to know. This was a very beautiful way to learn more about Indonesian culture and believe me when you start you can’t stop.”

I took a tour with Valerie through the museum... She talks about the opportunities she has had through the group...

“You have study group and you go on journeys with a special theme. At the moment, some people have gone to the East of Indonesia to study specifically temples in that region. We have study groups on ceramic, on batik, on megalith, and you can join these so you can go deeper, you can choose the subject depending on what area you’re interested by.” 

Indonesian Merry Melawati-Kho says that their work is about more than just promoting tourism.

“Without preservation, you will not understand your history. Without an understanding of your history, if something happens to you, you don’t know how to resolve it.”