Maritime Museum Inaugurated Governor Ali Sadikin In History Today, 7 July 1977

Governor of DKI Jakarta Ali Sadikin when inaugurating the Maritime Museum which is a historical record today 7 July 1977. (National Library)

JAKARTA - History today, 45 years ago, July 7, 1977, the Governor of DKI Jakarta Ali Sadikin inaugurated the Maritime Museum. The museum occupies the site of a former spice warehouse building belonging to the Dutch trading airline, VOC. The inauguration was warmly welcomed by all Jakarta residents. The warmth is none other than the residents of Jakarta can get knowledge and recreational facilities at the same time. Even this inauguration is predicted to be Ali Sadikin's last contribution, before he was released from duty.

Ali Sadikin's contribution to DKI Jakarta is quite large. He is even often mentioned as one of the best governors who are able to give birth to Jakarta. In his hands, Jakarta seems to beautify itself. Even though Jakarta's development budget is so small.

The man who is familiarly called Bang Ali broke everything down. He became a figure who dared to put up with new ideas. Gambling and prostitution, one of them. It legalizes immoral business. The tone of rejection is no less great. However, Ali Sadikin did not back down.

Front view of the Maritime Museum in the Penjaringan area, North Jakarta. (Wikimedia Commons)

Bang Ali's spell actually worked. Jakarta's income has increased many times over. Moreover, Bang Ali used the income to develop Jakarta from The Big Village to become a Metropolitan. Public facilities were also built, from hospitals, schools, to mosques.

Not only that, Bang Ali set aside Jakarta's income to perpetuate the restoration of buildings that have historical value. Bang Ali at that time remembered the mandate from President Soekarno which revealed that a great nation is a nation that respects its history.

"In addition, documentation of the development process that has been carried out so far in Jakarta is also carried out. At that time, we also started by carrying out the restoration of the buildings left by the past.”

"The criteria for the restoration are based on architectural values as well as historical values and the struggle of the nation. So we went home to the National Awakening Building, the Youth Pledge Building, the Joang 45 Building, the National Archives Building, the former Social Department Building on Jalan KS Tubun Np. 4, Cut Mutiah Building, Moh. Husni Thamrin and others," explained Ali Sadikin as written by Ramadhan KH in the book Bang Ali: For the sake of Jakarta 1966-1977 (1992).

The courtyard in the Maritime Museum which is a former warehouse belonging to the VOC from the 17th century. (Wikimedia Commons)

Bang Ali is well aware that Jakarta is very short of educational and recreational facilities. Therefore, the old buildings that have been restored are not left behind after that. Bang Ali took the initiative to use the old building as a museum. Because, the museum has two functions: education and recreation.

He then initiated the establishment of many museums. These include the Jakarta History Museum, the Fine Arts Museum, the HB Jassin Literary Documentation Museum, the Puppet Museum, and the Textile Museum. Only at the end of his tenure as governor of Jakarta, Ali Sadikin initiated the Maritime Museum.

The museum occupies the site of a former VOC spice warehouse from the 17th century. He also inaugurated the Maritime Museum on July 7, 1977. The inauguration which coincided with the 450th Anniversary of the City of Jakarta was warmly welcomed by all Jakarta residents.

“The following year, it was the turn of the Museum of Fine Arts and Ceramics, which occupied the site of a Neo-Greek-style building, a former colonial court office, with a colossal row of Doric-style pillars in the foreground. Sadikin's last project, completed in 1977, was the Maritime Museum which occupies the site of a former 17th century VOC warehouse.”

“The museum adds to the ranks of the first generation of museums built during the colonial period. At the end of the 1970s, Jakarta became the city with the most museums in all of Southeast Asia,” concluded Remy Madinier in his book Revolution Never Ends (2012).

The inauguration of the Maritime Museum by the Governor of DKI Jakarta, Ali Sadikin became a historical record today 7 July 1977.