Sultan Condemns Building As An ‘Insult’ To Solo Culture

The Solo Paragon Apartment project looms over the city despite ancient taboos against buildings being taller than the royal palace. (Photo: Ali Lutfi, JG)

Solo, Central Java - Sultan Paku Buwono XIII Tejowulan, the head of the ancient royal house that lords over a cultural kingdom centered on Solo in Central Java, has expressed outrage over the building of a new apartment tower here and has demanded the project be scrapped.

“I demand the apartment project be put on hold. Otherwise, I will come to the mayor and all related parties,” he said. The sultan raised concerns that such a project would open the door for rampant development to follow, which would threaten the cultural character of the city.

Solo Mayor Joko Widodo issued a permit for the construction of the 25-story Paragon Apartment on a 4.1-hectare plot of land in the center of the city in which only predominantly low-rise structures have been built so far.

In a civil lawsuit against the mayor, a group called the Justice and Truth Enforcers Forum, led by Ismu Wardoyo, demanded the development be stopped, and is seeking Rp 50 billion ($4.9 million) in damages. A number of artists and local figures have testified in the ongoing trial against the project.

The sultan accused property developers and city officials of failing to consult with the cultural institutions such as the Solo Palace and local experts before launching a construction project.

He said the planned tower would violate traditional customs that dictated buildings should be lower than the Sangga Buwana Tower, a 35-meter, five-story tower that was built during the reign of Sultan Paku Buwono II in 1745 within the palace compound.

The tower is considered to be a sacred meeting between flesh-and-blood sultans of Solo and the mythical Queen of South Sea.

“Our ancestors bought Solo from Kyai Sala. The people are the real owners of Solo. The developers are disrespectful. Brainless!” the sultan said. He made his comments from his private residence outside the palace, just 300 meters away from the Paragon Apartment’s development site.

“I’m sitting on this throne, facing east. And, right before my eyes, there is a development of an apartment higher than Sangga Buwana Tower. Do they challenge me and our ancestors? So disrespectful!” he said.

He said Solo was a cultural capital with ample open space, and such apartment complexes did not serve a public need.

“Solo is neither a business nor an industrial city. Apartments are only for satisfying rich people and unsuitable for the Javanese culture,” he said. The sultan added that there were not yet any existing regulations governing high-rise apartments.

He regretted that the mayor, Joko, had issued the permit to build the apartment and had approved two additional towers elsewhere in the city.

The sultan was also upset on Monday by news that Solo’s district court decided to postpone hearing his testimony against Joko in a civil suit related to the apartment project. Presiding Judge Yuhanis cited the sultan’s late arrival at court as the reason for the postponement.

The sultan said he had only been “a couple of seconds” late. “I’m late because I had to see many guests. As sultan of Solo, I must make the people my priority. The court should honor my appearance by waiting a little bit longer,” he told reporters at a press conference.

Sultan Paku Buwono XIII Hangabehi, who heads a faction of the same kingdom and resides at the palace in Solo, also condemned the project. His spokeswoman, Gusti Raden Ayu Koes Murtiyah, said the mayor and developers failed to talk to him about the project. “We, as the cultural and customary guardians of Solo, are insulted. All this time, we have honored the traditional rule that buildings should not be taller than Sangga Buwana Tower,” Gusti Murtiyah said.

Work on the PT Sunindo Gapura Prima project has already reached the finishing stages. A ceremony to dedicate the building has, in fact, already been held, and attended by State Minister for Public Housing Yusuf Asy’ari, on June 27. That move further fanned the fury of local cultural leaders.

Imelda Tio, the president of Sunindo Gapura Prima’s board of directors, declined to comment on the civil lawsuit against the firm’s apartment project.

Joko argued that Solo would remain the so-called City of Culture despite the imposing presence of the apartment. “We will also revitalize traditional markets, hold art and cultural shows and strive to resuscitate Solo’s spirit as the spirit of Java. Let the apartment be this period’s icon, showing that we are also moving toward modernity,” he said. Candra Malik

Source: http://thejakartaglobe.com

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