Former Governor Of DKI Jakarta, Henk Ntung Dies In History Today, December 12, 1991

The former governor of DKI Jakarta (1964-1965), Henk Nantung. (Charles Breijer/Netherlands Photo Museum)

JAKARTA History today, 31 years ago, December 12, 1991, Henk Ntung passed away. The former governor of DKI Jakarta (1964-1965) suffered from heart disease. All Indonesian people are grieving. The people of Jakarta, especially.

Previously, Henk Nuntung was known as one of the left artists. However, the New Order (Orba) changed his life. He lives in poverty and his space as an artist is limited. All of this is because the New Order considers him a Soekarno loyalist and part of the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI).

Soekarno's desire to beautify Jakarta is second to none. He wanted to make Jakarta a beacon of national civilization. Akas the face of Indonesian power. Bung Karno's desire often intervened in the election of the Governor of DKI Jakarta.

He did not want Jakarta to be led by just anyone. Bung Besar wants a leader in Jakarta who is highly dedicated in his work and field. Moreover, he has artistic blood. Soekarno also made Hendrik Hermanus Joel Ntung the leader of Jakarta.

There is no doubt about the life of a man who is familiarly called Henk Ntappung in the art world. He was once listed as the General Secretary of the Rakjat Community Institution (Lekra). A left-leaning cultural institution that is said to be close to the PKI.

However, Henk Ntung was not immediately elected governor. Instead, he was chosen as Deputy Governor to accompany Soemarno Sosroatmodjo in 1960. This position made Henk Ntung know a lot about the intricacies of Jakarta. This provision was brought by Henk Ntung when he was appointed governor of DKI Jakarta replacing Soemarno, who became Minister of Home Affairs in 1964.

Henk Depending on his consistency in the aesthetics of the city, controlling the residents of the city, caring for floods and constantly calling for controlling waste, Henk Nuntung was held by residents of Jakarta as Governor of Waste. One of the appointments of Henk Ntung as Governor has also proven that while serving as Deputy Governor has met expectations.

"Especially Bung Karno's hope of realizing a cultured and beautiful Jakarta. To overcome the waste problem, Henk left its implementation to Hoepoedio as Deputy Governor II, while he himself developed his own thoughts on how waste was solved in a more effective way and used new, more creative ways," said Obed Bima Wicandra in the book Henk Ntung: I am not the Governor of PKI (2017).

Henk Ntandung's power to fix Jakarta ended in 1965. He also continued to live as an artist. However, not everything went well. His life became an accident when the September 30th Movement (G30S) occurred. Especially when Suharto replaced Bung Karno as President of Indonesia.

Henk Ntung is considered a loyalist of Bung Karno. Moreover, Henk is said to be close to the PKI, which is suspected to be the main mastermind of the G30S. His life was complicated, while his space was narrowed. When he held an exhibition in Ancol on December 8, 1991, for example.

His exhibition was forcibly dissolved by the New Order. He could not contain his sadness. As a result, Henk Ntung's heart disease got worse. A few days later, he died at the General Hospital of the Indonesian Christian University (UKI), Cawang, East Jakarta, on December 12, 1991.

The opening was held under the supervision of a number of New Order intelligence. In history, this is the first time intelligence has been intensely involved in the exhibition space. But the case has not been completed. It has only been a few days since this exhibition was forced to be closed by the government. The reason is not clear. In the dark, Henk is certainly sad to see this fact A few days after the incident, maybe because of the accident, on December 12, 1991 Henk Non-Tentung passed away, "said Agus Dermawan T. in the book Karnavalulhikayat (2021).