Jakarta (Bung Karno)
March 27, 2008 — tbelfield
Sukarno 1948 - Born in 1901 in Surabaya. First President of Indonesia. Architect. Genius. Womanizer. And, yes, indeed, a megalomaniac. I love him.
“Is Jakarta the awful culmination of the nation’s past or does it in fact mirror Indonesia’s future? Throughout its history its rulers have certainly intended the latter, but the real city has always taken its own perversely different path, making it to some extent a microcosm of the country at large- a forum for government policies at odds with people struggling to make a life of their own”.
Abeyasekere 1987: xvii
“Dust lies hot on streets
Clearly empty of love and pity;
It’s not like my green village
Here”.
- Ebiet Ade
“As you know, I am an architect. Besides, I have been roaming far and wide abroad… and everywhere, in every country, I’ve seen the Parliament Building is always the most prestigious… Oh, yes, I am indeed a megalomaniac…”
Cited in Leclerc 1993: 54
“Build up Djakarta as beautifully as possible; build it as spectacularly as possible, so that this city, which has become the center of the struggle of the Indonesian people, will be an inspiration and beacon to the whole of struggling mankind and to all the emerging forces. If Egypt was able to construct Cairo as its capital, Italy its Rome, France its Paris and Brazil its Brasilia, then Indonesia must also proudly present Djakarta as the portal of the country”.
Sukarno 1962 (The Transformation of Djakarta Raya)
“Projects such as the Asian Games, the National Monument, Independence Mosque, the Jakarta By-pass, and so on, are examples of “National Building” and “Character Building” …of the whole Indonesian people striving to recover out national identity. Who is not aware that every people in the world is always striving to enhance its greatness and lofty ideals? Do you remember that a great leader of a foreign country told me that monuments are an absolute necessity to develop the people’s spirit, as necessary as pants for somebody naked, pants and not a tie? Look at New York and Moscow; look at any state capital, East and West it makes no matter, and you always find the centers of nations’ greatness in the form of buildings, material buildings to be proud of”.
Cited in Leclerc 1993:52
“Man does not live by bread alone. Although Djakarta’s alleys are muddy and we lack roads, I have erected a brick-and-glass apartment building, a clover-leaf bridge, and our super highway, the Djakarta Bypass, and I renamed the streets after our heroes: Djalan Diponegoro, Djalan Thamrin, Djalan Tjokroaminoto. I consider money for material symbols well spent. I must make Indonesians proud of themselves. They have cringed too long”.
Cited in Abeyasekere 1987:210
“Comrades from Jakarta, let us build a Jakarta into the greatest city possible. Great not just from a material point of view; great, not just because of its skyscrapers; great not just because it has boulevards and beautiful streets; great not just because it has beautiful monuments; great in every respect, even in the little houses of the workers of Jakarta there must be a sense of greatness… Give Jakarta an extraordinary place in the minds of the Indonesian people, because Jakarta belongs to the people of Jakarta. Jakarta belongs to the whole Indonesian people. More than that, Jakarta is becoming the beacon of the whole of mankind. Yes, the beacon of the New Emerging Forces”.
Cited in Abeyasekere 1987:168
“Who is not proud that he is a member of a nation that is not stagnant, of a nation that is moving, moving, moving on swiftly towards a building of a great state, whole and strong, that stretches from Sabang to Merauke, a great state that moves forward fast toward a life that is noble and respected, just and prosperous, that is a beacon to others, that had no exploitation de l’homme par l’homme, and that is rapidly becoming one of the champions of the new emerging forces, a nation that is moving to realize socialism based on its own identity?”
Cited in Feith and Castles 1970:118-19
“What we ask is just a dike
No monuments or football stadiums
Or coloured fountains
Send us lime and cement”.
-Taufiq Ismail
Cited in Teeuw 1967:254
Notes:
Abeyasekere, S. 1987. Jakarta: A History. Singapore. Oxford University Press.
A is for Abeyasekere. Susan Abeyasekere, Jakarta’s historian. If you have anything to say about Jakarta at all you start with her. Her book is perhaps cited more than any other text in journal articles, books, and Jakarta Urban Blog.
Kusno, A. 2000. Behind the Post Colonial: Architecture, urban space and political cultures in Indonesia. Routeledge.
I am currently reading Kusno’s most interesting book. Most of the Sukarno quotes are cited there.
Leclerc, J. 1993. ‘Mirrors and the Lighthouse: A Search for Meaning in the Monuments and Great Works of Sukarno’s Jakarta, 1960-1966′ in Nas, P. (ed.) Urban Symbolism, Leiden: E.J. Brill.
Teeuw, A. 1967. Modern Indonesian Literature. The Hague: Nijhoff.
Off to Jakarta (or not)
I am certainly going to bring pants and not a tie. I would look somewhat foolish walking down Jalan Thamrin with just a tie and no pants. But either way I can’t go alone…
My wife tells me that if I go to Jakarta by myself then I can’t go. No way!!!! (emphasis not mine). It appears I need a minder, mind you. In the old Soviet days you couldn’t go anywhere without your local Intourist Guide (= KGB agent). I am sure their methods have improved and the spying is all remote and electronic now. But I digress. The issue is not that I would be out to steal any of Indonesia’s state secrets it’s more that something unpleasant might happen to me while strolling down Jalan Thamrin. Should that occur it would be a family scandal of high magnitude, catastrophically unlucky, not mention unpleasant.
How about Jalan Jaksa? You know Jalan Jaksa?
Oh, that’s where the bule live. Cheap apartments. Kind of the “bule district”. Looks like Bali. Small street. Many café there. People know that’s where the bule live so they know all the bule there and leave them alone. They know they have money or not. Because, you know, bule miskin are there. You can go there.
Can I walk around there by myself?
You can go with Dedy or Ovet or Budi or Gari or Eky.
Why can’t I go around Jakarta by myself?
Because you’re a nice person and you don’t know Jakarta. You’re a virgin. You know virgin?
What!? Yes, of course…
Ya, you’re a Jakarta virgin… (laughs). You don’t know Jakarta well enough. There are bad people there that seem nice and nice people there that are really bad.
What!?
How can you tell the difference? They’ll take advantage of you because you’re a nice bule.
How do they know that? I see, I am like someone who just comes from the village for the first time to Jakarta. Is that it then?
You think you know Jakarta but you don’t. You can’t go by yourself.
Ok, well how about Jalan Thamrin? Can I go there?
Yes, if someone goes with you… (more laughs)
Can I take the train?
Nooooooooooooo way!!!!!
Look for me soon on the streets of Jakarta. You will know who I am. The nice bule with the pants and the entourage of minders walking down Jalan Thamrin.
