TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Following rejection by locals to Manunggal Sentral Baja's plan to erect a steel plant on a former Majapahit kingdom site in Trowulan, Mojokerto regency, East Java, Governor Soekarwo asked Mojokerto Regent Mustofa Kamal Pasa to revoke the permit for the construction. But some still see a threat.
Andrian Perkasa, executive director of the Indonesian Heritage Preservation Board, said that the Trowulan issue was complex. "In light of the local threat, the preservation effort by the state has been ineffective," he told Tempo. While Trowulan could be 10,000 hectares, according to satellite images, the Conservation Board only controls about six hectares, and so could not do much to prevent people from digging up the land for raw material for bricks.
Aris Soviyani, head of the Trowulan Cultural Heritage Preservation Board, said there might be more than 3,000 brick kilns in Trowulan. But whether to forbid the local people from exploiting their land was a dilemma. "It's their own land and their livelihood," he said.
To solve the problem, the East Java Provincial Government decided to buy thousands of the kilns. "Trowulan's spatial layout will be converted into a cultural heritage site by involving archaeologists and architects," Soekarwo said. Director-General for Cultural Affairs Kacung Marijan said the government would designate Trowulan as a cultural preserve. "It will almost certainly be completed this year," he said. The designation will be made after an expert team finishes their study.
ENDRI KURNIAWATI, AGITA S. LISTYANTI, ISHOMUDDIN
