TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - A number of historic sites in Indonesia are being restored to their former glory. The efforts have been led by dedicated local residents.
Built nearly a century ago, the house where Sukarno and his wife Inggit Ganarsih lived when exiled by the Dutch still stands tall. Set on what is now called Jalan Soekarno-Hatta in Anggut, Bengkulu province, Sukarno and Inggit lived in the house from 1938 to 1942.
Sugrahanudin, 46, an employee with the Jambi House for the Preservation of Cultural Heritage (PBCB), has played a crucial role in preserving the site. So much so that last October, Grahan, as he is familiarly known, was named one of the year's five best conservationists by the education and culture ministry. The award is one way the government is striving to preserve Indonesia's thousands of heritage sites.
Harry Widianto, director for the conservation of historical sites and museums at the ministry, said the government needed members of civil society to step up and help preserve history. Such a duty, he said, was set in law in 2010, with the passage of a regulation requiring citizens to pitch in.
Many community groups have since sprung up. One of these is the Community for the Preservation of Tayan Cultural Heritage, which is attempting to refurbish the Pakunegara Tayan kraton (palace) in Pontianak, West Kalimantan.
This community group was founded by the 14th raja (king) of Tayan kraton, Panembahan Anom Pakunegara Gusti Yusri. "After I was sworn in as raja in 2012, I straight away stepped on the gas to revitalize the heritage (sites) of Tayan kraton, both the physical and the non-physical," the 48-year-old man said.
The revitalization drive is meant to revive the former glory of the Tayan kraton, which fell into disrepair in the time of the 13th raja in 1967.
"The role of the raja now is no longer one of power, but as the person in charge of organizing efforts towards making historical heritage useful for the people," said Yusri who was only a year old when his father died. (*)
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