100 Years of Gadang Clock, Bukittinggi is Driven to Become a City of Indonesian Struggle

BUKITTINGGI - The 100th Anniversary of the Gadang Clock has brought back Bukittinggi's great role in the history of the Republic of Indonesia. Minister of Culture Fadli Zon even emphasized that the city in the heart of Minangkabau deserves to be known as the City of Struggle because of its great contribution in maintaining Indonesia's existence during the critical independence period.

The statement was made by Fadli Zon when opening an International Seminar entitled Weaving the Diplomacy between Indonesia and the Netherlands: Independence Movement to Repatriation in Bukittinggi, Saturday, June 20.

According to Fadli, Bukittinggi is not just a tourist city that is synonymous with Jam Gadang. This city has produced many important figures of the nation and has become one of the centers of the Indonesian struggle when the country faced threats after the Dutch Military Aggression II in 1948.

"Bukittinggi has a very important role in the history of the nation's struggle. I have long been encouraging Bukittinggi to be known as the City of Struggle because of its very large historical role in maintaining the existence of the Republic of Indonesia," said Fadli.

He reminded that West Sumatra and Bukittinggi have a strategic position in the history of the Emergency Government of the Republic of Indonesia (PDRI). The existence of the PDRI is the main support for the continuity of the state when the central government was under pressure due to the Dutch military aggression.

On that occasion, Fadli also touched on Jam Gadang which this year will turn a century old. According to Fadli, the iconic building is not only a marker of time, but also a symbol of the Minangkabau people's historical journey.

Jam Gadang was built during the colonial era as a gift from Queen Wilhelmina to the people of Bukittinggi on the initiative of Hendrik Ruhmacher. The tower was designed by a Minangkabau architect, Yazid Rajo Mangkuto, and underwent several changes in shape until it finally used a gabled roof that became the identity of the Minangkabau culture.

Fadli considered the commemoration of the one hundredth anniversary of Jam Gadang to be an important momentum to look back at the relationship between Indonesia and the Netherlands in a more complete way. The history of the two nations, he said, not only contains conflicts and struggles, but also the process of dialogue, reconciliation, and cultural cooperation that continues to develop.

One form of cooperation is the repatriation program or the return of Indonesian cultural objects from the Netherlands in recent years. The program is considered an important step in bringing about historical justice as well as strengthening relations between the two countries through the cultural channel.

During the seminar, the Dutch Ambassador to Indonesia Marc Gerritsen via video connection said that the relationship between Indonesia and the Netherlands is now not only based on history, but also education and culture.

The government hopes that the 100th anniversary of the Gadang Clock will not stop as a ceremonial agenda, but rather become a momentum to strengthen historical awareness while reviving the role of Bukittinggi as one of the most important cities in the journey of the Republic of Indonesia.