Ali Sadikin Slashes Social Class Boundaries Using Batik

JAKARTA - The existence of batik was pioneered by many figures. One of them is Ali Sadikin. The governor of DKI Jakarta (1966-1977) wanted batik to replace expensive Western suits that were identical to the Dutch colonial era. Batik is used as a medium of resistance to social inequality. Batik is considered the official dress of all social classes.

Dutch colonialism became the gateway for European culture to enter the archipelago. European culture is not only synonymous with bringing architectural style but also in terms of style of dress. This style of dress is often politicized by the Dutch. Through their style of dress, the colonial government tried to distinguish their class from the Chinese, Arabs, and natives.

Because of that a new standard emerged. Anyone who wears a European suit (coat, trousers, bow tie, etc.) is seen as having the privileges of a first-class citizen. Even the King of Java Amangkurat II until priyayi was then avid for wearing Western suits.

The culture of using western suits was even present until Indonesia's independence, until the New Order (Orba). At the beginning of the New Order era, Western suits were still the prima donna. Meanwhile, Batik is a garment that is not considered. The statement was conveyed by the New Order era entrepreneur Abdul Latief.

He remembers the days when he was still working at the Sarinah department store. One of the most interesting moments was when he shared the elevator with Ali Sadikin. The governor of Jakarta looks cool wearing his favorite clothes, the Filipino barong tagalong. Latief then tried to reprimand Ali Sadikin.

"Bang Ali why wear traditional Filipino clothes, not Indonesian national clothes?" cried Latif.

Ali Sadikin spontaneously replied, "Should I wear a sarong?"

"Is there batik?" added Latif.

"You think I'm a woman, told to wear batik and kebaya?" said Ali Sadikin.

The conversation between Ali and Latief at least showed the image of batik in 1967. However, Latief did not lose his mind. He immediately invited Ali Sadikin to find formal clothes that fit and were nationally produced.

Incidentally, in one elevator there were also other officials such as the Head of the DKI Jakarta Tourism Office, Joop Ave. The collaborative effort aims to find ways to make batik up grade. Moreover, so that batik looks classy used by men and women.

“Then, Mrs. Saridjah Niung Bintang Soedibio, who is popularly known as Mrs. Sud, a children's songwriter and also a batik artist, made a special batik for Bang Ali. It turns out that Bang Ali is happy."

"On a special occasion he came to Latief and said, 'Isn't my batik cool?' Latif replied, 'Wow that's really cool!' When giving a speech at the event, Bang Ali announced that at every official event the DKI Regional Government must wear batik official clothes," wrote Syafrizal Dahlan in Abdul Latief's book: The Rise of Nationalist Entrepreneurs (2017).

Ali Sadikin's idea to make Batik a national dress did not come from only one reason. In another fact, Ali Sadikin has observed that not all or very few DKI Jakarta government employees can afford European suits (complete suits and ties) because they are expensive.

After all, the air in Jakarta is very hot. As a result, Ali Sadikin said the use of European suits was not suitable. Even in parts of Asia itself, there are many countries that are proud of their own national clothes.

In the Philippines, men usually wear the national dress called the barong. The women also wear their distinctive clothes with great pride.

The second most populous country, India is the same. Indians seem proud of their national attire. So that there is no more reason for Ali Sadikin to make batik as a national dress.

“It made me wonder why in Indonesia wearing a suit is required to attend official events, even though a suit is not suitable for the hot equatorial climate.”

"Governor Ali Sadikin made a regulation that allows people to wear batik (long sleeves) to attend official events. But the regulation has not yet become a national regulation," said humanist, Ajib Rosidi in the book Life Without a Diploma (2008).

Ali Sadikin meant the long-sleeved shirt, among other things, how to wear it not to put it inside the waist circle of the pants, but to take it off the outside. In addition there are three pockets: two on the bottom, one on the top.

In short, a long-sleeved shirt is worth the full civilian outfit. Similarly, short-sleeved batik shirts that can be used in informal activities.

“The continuation of my decision as governor to set a long-sleeved batik shirt as the official dress is that such clothes can be accepted by the public to go to receptions, to weddings and so on. In fact, foreign diplomats also use it for meetings that are quite polite," said Ali Sadikin, written by Ramadhan KH in the book Bang Ali: For Jakarta's sake 1966-1977 (1992).

As a result, Ali Sadikin's idea became popular. Batik slowly became the national dress. Thanks to Ali Sadikin, the demand for long-sleeved batik in various regions has also increased.

Regional batik producers then competed to make good long-sleeved and short-sleeved batik clothes. Not only that, Ali Sadikin continued his popular idea by settling for batik as one of the school uniforms in Jakarta.

“In order to maintain the existence of batik, the Governor of DKI Jakarta Ali Sadikin on July 14, 1972 established batik as the official dress for men in the DKI Jakarta area. This decision was taken as a real effort to encourage the batik industry. Ali Sadikin said: batik is a unique and traditional national dress.”

"Batik later became official national clothing, among others, by wearing batik by State Palace employees on the Independence Day event on August 17, 1972. A year later, in 1973, Bang Ali established batik as one of the student uniforms in Jakarta."

"The DKI Jakarta government then held a batik carnival for elementary, middle, and high school students throughout DKI Jakarta. Various models of batik clothes worn by students strolled on the main streets of Jakarta," closed Chris Pujiastuti in his writings in the Kompas Daily, Bang Ali and Batik Fever (2017).

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