Ki Hadjar Dewantara Seat Damaged Due To Brawl At Yogyakarta Student Park, Museum Waits For BPK Study For Repair

Dewantara Museum Guard Kirti Griya (DKG) shows the damaged chair of Ki Hadjar Dewantara (ANTARA/Luqman Hakim)

YOGYAKARTA - Management of the Dewantara Kirti Griya Museum (DKG) is waiting for a study by the Cultural Preservation Center (BPK) to repair cultural heritage objects in the form of chairs left by Ki Hadjar Dewantara which were damaged by a brawl on Jalan Tamansiswak Yogyakarta, Sunday, June 4 evening. "(The damage, red.) is the worst collection of cultural heritages, only one, the heritage seat (Ki Hajar, ed.). Later we will consult with the BPK whether or not it needs to be replaced," said Head of the Dewantara Museum, Kirti Griya Ki Murwanto in Yogyakarta, Antara, Thursday, June 8. He explained that the repair of cultural heritage objects cannot be arbitrary and needs to be based on studies because it risks changing its authenticity. One of the seats left by the national hero was damaged on the back and seat made of rattan wovenness. However, the seats can still be used. "For example, no (there are recommendations, ed.) so that's okay," said Murwanto. The chair on the terrace of the historic house, he said, in the past Ki Hadjar used to relax while looking at activities at the Taman Siswa Hall. "The curve is also commonly used to receive state guests, foreign guests. Jawaharlal Nehru (former Prime Minister of India, ed.) has also sat there," he said. Head of the General Meeting Section of the DIY Culture Service, Sony Saifudin, said that allowing the damaged part of Ki Hadjar Dewantara's relic would witness the events that had occurred at the museum. "That will be evidence or a story about traveling in the museum itself, the journey of the museum collection itself where on Sunday, June 4 yesterday there was damage to the collection," he said. Although still waiting for the results of the study from the BPK, he said, the damaged cultural heritage objects would serve as a reminder so that similar incidents would not be repeated in the future. "So it's part of the story, maybe a bitter story. I say bitter because it doesn't happen again in the future," he said. In addition to cultural heritage objects, a number of museum facilities, such as doors and a number of flower pots in the complex, have also been damaged, but are currently being repaired. The Dewantara Kirti Griya Museum is listed as a National Ranking Cultural Heritage Site based on the Decree of the Minister of Education and Culture of the Republic of Indonesia No. 243/M/2015. The museum, which holds Ki Hajar Dewantara's relics, received the Indonesia Museum Award "Purwakalagriha" in the 2015 'Beautified Museum' category. On the evening of Sunday (4/6), there were clashes between two mass groups on Jalan Tamansiswa, Yogyakarta City. As a result of the incident, the Kirti Griya Museum in the area was damaged because one of the warring groups was pressed and then entered the museum complex to take cover.