Behold Indonesia’s fenceless palaces!

Indonesia’s strict adherence to the principles of rule of law keeps the country on the right track. It also allows the country to maintain her religious pluralism. One of the things that I found amazing about the country is the fenceless nature of almost all her important places, including the presidential villa, offices and houses […]

Indonesia’s strict adherence to the principles of rule of law keeps the country on the right track. It also allows the country to maintain her religious pluralism.

One of the things that I found amazing about the country is the fenceless nature of almost all her important places, including the presidential villa, offices and houses of the governors. The palaces of first class emirs as well as places of worship of various religions are also not fenced.

“This is unbelievable! How can the abode of the president be like a museum where everybody can just walk in and feel at home?” I asked Sheriff, our guide in Jakarta, as we zoomed around the palace in our tourists’ bus.

“It is the norm here,” Sheriff said. “Government houses and offices are public buildings. Therefore, not just citizens of Indonesia, all other people who come here for business, tourism or research are allowed unfettered access into the buildings,” he added.

With a population of over 238 million (the fourth most populous in the world), over 700 languages, over 6000 dialects spoken by various ethnic and linguistically distinct people, Indonesians are very tolerant and peace-loving people. Respect for ‘order and the Rule of Law’ have simply demystified the odds posed by challenges of life.

A nation where waters make up almost 81 per cent of its area, successive governments had to massively reclaim waterlogged areas to build infrastructure, including roads, mass houses, railways, industries, schools, airports and tourism sites.

To greater extent, a tour of many Islands in the country shows how the government was doing a magic that proves unmatchable by other third world countries.

Despite the seeming progress the country is making, her citizens allege highhandedness and corruption by top government officials. But “corruption does not completely retard development,” said a source close to the Nigerian Embassy in Indonesia.

“In the 1960s, Indonesia got seeds of palm oil from Nigeria and planted them in many parts of their country.  As I am talking to you now, Indonesia has taken over from Malaysia. It is now the largest exporter of palm oil in the world,” the source said.

“Indonesia utilizes its human and material resources…the citizens build all the skyscrapers and the highways and bridges. There is no Julius Berger here and the influence of expatriates is minimal,” Chizoba Endy, another Nigerian resident in Indonesia, said.

He said Nigerians residing in Indonesia buy textiles, foods, electronics and spare parts worth billions of naira and export them to Nigeria.“In Jakarta alone, there are thousands of shops and malls that provide job to the people. The Indonesians are not repatriating their money to other countries. They are using the money to develop their economy,” he said.

Despite high cost of construction, coupled with contoured land with corners and turns, hills and lakes as well as mountain tops and plains, most of the roads in Indonesia were built to standard.

“Indo” meaning (mixed) and “nesia” (nations) are the two words which give Indonesia its name, a country aptly described as “Bhinneka Tunggal Ika” meaning “Unity in Diversity” in the official Bahasa language.

Findings show that Indonesia is home to many people, including the natives, the Indies, Britons, Dutch, Italians, Chinese and other nationalities.

Our trip (myself and four other journalists), which lasted from April 29 to May 6, 2012 was at the instance of the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy of the Republic of Indonesia. It was an 18-hour long trip from Abuja with stopovers in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and Dubai in United Arab Emirates (UAE).

After our first day tour, all of us were unanimous that there is relative sanity in governance in Indonesia and the feat is tied to the tourism and agricultural potentials of the country.

“It appears the people here are not desperate…everybody is calm and going about their businesses,” Mr. Bruce Malango said. “From what I observed, they are not apprehensive about tomorrow, because the gap between the lower and the middle classes only exist in the saying that some people are ahead of others,” he added.

Mechanized agriculture, functional textile, automobile and allied industries as well as well organized tourism sector have provided limitless job opportunities to the people, who in turn, do what they know best with pride and sense of satisfaction.

Most of the buildings in Indonesia, including government offices, residential quarters, schools and monuments are built to endure, not just constructed for aesthetics.

Hidden beauty could be seen in such structures and their architectural designs are inspired by historical, cultural and religious beliefs. And both government and private individuals have transformed the buildings into tourist attractions, hence attracting investment and foreign earnings as well as job opportunities for their people and millions of foreigners who seek refuge there.

Istana Merdeka (presidential palace)

So great and simple is the presidential palace in Indonesia. Encircled with dwarfed iron fence and adorned with green carpet grass and multi coloured flowers, the edifice which is now a tourist hub was originally called Koningsplein Paleis.

The palace was established between 1873 and 1879 and has features of neoclassical architecture.

Set in well-maintained gardens, the palace was home to 15 Dutch governor-generals, three Japanese commanders and the first president of Indonesia. In 1949, the Indonesian founding fathers and the Dutch government signed an agreement at the palace which ended the War of Independence. Now it functions as an official venue for presidential meetings and state functions.

Though visitors are allowed unfettered access into the modest sized building which is separated from other buildings by township roads, there are unpretentious security checks before people are allowed to enter the premises.

Similarly, dress code is highly respected as visitors are advised to dress modestly while women who intend to have a glimpse of the palace are not allowed to wear trousers.

MONAS

Built between 1949 and 1956, the national monument whose tower stands at 137 metres is located on Merdeka Square and symbolizes freedom. It was reportedly built by Sukarno, the first president of Indonesia in order to consolidate and preserve the independence of his country. The monument, situated in the heart of Jakarta, is a heritage landmark and was one of the tallest edifices built in the 60s. MONAS is a rallying point of domestic and international tourists who pay entrance fee at the gate.

Masjid Istiqlal

It is a symbol of religious harmony, Istiqlal Mosque. In Arabic, it means Independence Mosque. It is the largest mosque in Southeast Asia in terms of capacity of accommodating people and building structure. The mosque was built to commemorate Indonesia’s independence as the nation’s gratitude to Almighty Allah for his blessings.

The idea of constructing a grand Indonesian national mosque, we were told, was launched by KH Wahid Hasymin, Indonesia’s first Minister for Religious Affairs. The committee for the construction of the Istiqlal Mosque, led by Anwar Cokroaminoto, was founded in 1953. To showcase mutual coexistence, President Sukarno insisted that the national mosque should be built near Jakarta Cathedral and Immanuel Church to symbolize religious harmony and tolerance as promoted in Indonesia’s national philosophy.

The design submitted by Frederich Silaban, a Christian architect, with the theme: “Ketuhanan” (Indonesian Divinity) was chosen as the winner. The foundation stone was laid by Sukarno on 24 August 1961 and the construction took 17 years. Suharto inaugurated the Indonesian national mosque on 22 February 1978 and it is still the largest mosque in the region: more than 120,000 people capacity.

Interestingly, Indonesia has the world’s largest Muslim population, with more than 5,000 mosques and practicing what is widely acknowledged as a moderate expression of faith. The economic progress being made in the country is the envy of most nations. The average citizens, the owners of small and medium sized enterprises, are contented with their earnings.

Considering its massive size and difficult terrain, leaders of Indonesia realized that it was practically impossible for the citizens to move around and see for themselves; and also appreciate their diversity, hence the establishment of Taman Mini Indonesia Indah (TMII), a 160-hectare park designed to give visitors an overview of Indonesia. All provinces and most important islands of Indonesia are presented by a model of their traditional architecture.

Yogyakarta

So unique is Yogyakarta that its governor is the Sultan (leader of the Muslims) and his palace is a home for all and at the same time a tourist centre and a rallying point for locals, who also use the frontage of the palace as their market. The principal residence of the sultan is the Kraton (palace), sometimes called the Yogyakarta Kraton or Kraton Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat.

The most amazing thing about the palace is that there is no restriction on people who also go to the theatre that is situated within the precinct of the palace to watch classical music and also visit the museum of previous Sultans.

Yogyakarta is a city in the region of Java and it is renowned as a centre of classical Javanese fine art and culture, including Batik, ballet, drama, music, poetry and puppet shows.

Indeed, Yogyakarta is home to Borobudur Temple, the famous and biggest Buddhist temple in the world. Its history dates back to the 8th and 9th centuries and we were opportune to be there. Visitors in Indonesia hardly resist visiting the temple. The monument was restored with UNESCO’s help in the 1970s.