Reveals The History Of Hidden Reliefs In Sarinah, Megawati: As I Recall, Several People Did It

Megawati Soekarnoputri with Erick Thohir at Sarinah Jakarta/PHOTO: Wardhany Tsa Tsia-VOI

JAKARTA - Chairperson of the PDI-P (PDIP) Megawati Soekarnoputri spoke about the reliefs depicting farmers who had been 'hidden' in the Sarinah shopping center, Central Jakarta.

Although she doesn't remember the name of the artist very well, Megawati said that the reliefs made during the reign of her father, the First President of the Republic of Indonesia Soekarno or Bung Karno, were made by several people. The sculpture tells of a farmer from West Java named Marhaen.

"As far as I remember it was done by several people. It was me because I had forgotten about it for a long time," Megawati told reporters in Sarinah, Central Jakarta, Monday, June 13.

The 5th President of the Republic of Indonesia said that Bung Karno saw Marhaen as describing the life of the Indonesian people who had working capital, namely a hoe but never prospered.

"His wish (Bung Karno, ed) is that all Indonesian people must become a country that is gemah ripah loh jinawi (prosperous). That's how it is," he said.

Megawati, who was accompanied by SOE Minister Erick Thohir, admitted that she was happy to be able to visit and have a picture of the farmer in the relief. Moreover, the relief was allegedly hidden after Soekarno was no longer in office.

"In my opinion, it is very good, very beautiful. Each floor has its own meaning. Especially regarding the re-installation of reliefs. It turns out that after Bung Karno was no longer president, the reliefs seemed to have been quoted, so they were hidden," he explained.

Even though it had been 'hidden', Megawati is now happy that the relief has finally been opened and displayed again to the public.

According to Megawati, the relief measuring about 12x3 meters is an extraordinary work of art. Because, to make carvings in stone with a large size is not easy.

This also proves that Indonesia is capable of producing great maestro.

"But in the end, Alhamdulillah, it was returned. What I think is extraordinary from an artistic point of view, because maybe young people today don't necessarily know how to sculpt like that, the length of such a relief is not an easy thing because it is three-dimensional," said Mega.

"So in terms of meaning, it's not playing. Indonesia has artists who are actually maestros," he concluded.