by R. Kristiawan, The Jakarta Post, 08/01/2001
The story of Toko Oen, the city's oldest restaurant, begins in 1922 in Yogyakarta with a housewife who had time on her hands.
Liem Gien Nio was the wife of Oen Tjoen Hok, a Chinese-Indonesian lieutenant, who wanted something to do after finishing her housework.
She was an expert cook of Dutch and Chinese food, so she started making different types of cookies and selling them, with her customer including the Chinese and Dutch communities and Javanese nobility of Yogyakarta.
The cookies sold like, well, hot cakes. Liem soon established a small cake shop, Toko Oen, at the strategic location of Jl. Tugu Kidul in Yogyakarta, with its name taken from her husband.
The shop, with its delicious cakes and cookies, soon established a regular customer base.
As more people came to try the cakes, the family opened another room where people could sit down and have a drink.
After three years, they expanded the restaurant again and hired staff to help them, including cooks making more substantial meals than cakes.
The family considering opening branches outside of Yogyakarta, and on April 16, 1936, Toko Oen Semarang on Bodjong Weg, now Jalan Pemuda, served up its first meals to customers.
Branches in Jakarta and Malang soon followed. Bodjong, running from the Tugu Muda (Youth Monument) through to the harbor, was the main road in Semarang, home to important offices such as the train bureau and post office.
Liem's granddaughter Yenny Megaputri, who is a graduate in architecture from Delft University and manages Toko Oen, said the restaurant, with its tall windows and high curved roof, was built in the Jugendstijl (young style) that was popular in Europe from the end of 19th century.
What makes Toko Oen special it that it has not changed over the years.
Today it has a mall in front of it and modern shops as its neighbors, but Toko Oen has not changed.
Toko Oen has always been famed for its rich menu -- beefsteak (a European style dish which, however, is never found in the Old World), fried rice, satay, tutti frutti ice cream and many others are firm favorites, just as they were when president Sukarno and the Sultan of Yogyakarta dined there.
Its interior is even more beautiful than its exterior.
The windows have green curtains and there are checkered tiles on the floor.
Two fans, like in the old days, fight the Semarang heat.
A grand piano has been a resident since 1936 and it still works well today. Dutch cookies and cakes are displayed in tall glass jars, and its menus and crockery hark back to the 1930s.
Even the waiters, some of them are the sons of the men who first worked in Toko Oen, wear the peci (traditional black cap) and white uniforms of their forbears (the Javanese blangkon hat worn by waiters before independence was changed to the peci at Sukarno's suggestion.
"If a chair is broken, we change it for a similar one," said Agustinia Sustianawati, one of the staff members.
Yenny Megaputri said any change would be to the detriment of the restaurant's atmosphere.
"I love old buildings so I will not make any change to this restaurant," said Yenny.
The Semarang restaurant is the only one in Indonesia still run by the family.
In 1958, Toko Oen Jakarta and Yogyakarta stopped running due to the absence of family members willing to take them over.
Toko Oen Malang is still running but under different management.
But Yenny has made some strategic business steps.
She opened to branches in Delft and The Hague repectively in 1997 and 2000. Because of its history and its quaint colonial characteristics, Toko Oen is a favorit place to visit for Dutch tour groups.
Some of them spent their youth in Semarang; as they sit on the chairs in Toko Oen, perhaps they are reliving in their mind the days of their youth when they danced, sang and dined at this famous restaurant.
Tuesday, April 26, 2005
Indigenous people marginalized at Wasur National Park
by R. Kristiawan, The Jakarta Post, April 19, 2005
Wasur National Park is essential for the well-being of Merauke, South Papua.
Located 13 kilometers from the city, Rawa Biru, the 10,400 (checking units) area of open water in the center of the park is also a water source of the city's people. The national park is very rich in terms of biodiversity.
Melaleuca eucalyptus, savanna, mangrove and lowland forest can be seen. In the park, 390 animal species, including 80 mammal species, are to be found. Tribes numbering some 2,550 people live in 14 villages. They have existed for hundreds of years in the park, surviving on simple planting and hunting.
Demographic changes in Merauke have endangered their livelihoods, as modern hunting and illegal logging pose a threat to Papua's richest park in term of biodiversity.
The park is very beautiful indeed. After turning left from the Merauke road, a very rich lowland forest can be seen. Eucalyptus trees stand tall everywhere. Many bird species, like cockatoos and parrots screech loudly.
Between the bushes, white ants build their mounds from soil. Unlike Javanese white ants, which live underground, the white ants of Wasur build their nests like towers. They can reach four meters in height. You can find the same thing in Australia.
There are many animal species in the park, including birds, deer, kangaroos, wild pigs and reptiles. Lying east of the Wallace Line, Papua has no tigers. The main predators in the ecosystem are eagles, crocodiles, snakes and humans.
The tribes usually hunt deer, kangaroos and wild boars to satisfy their protein needs. Present-day economic realities mean they also now sell the animals since they are the only products with a high value that they have to trade.
The local tribes hunt using sustainable methods. At certain times, people are forbidden from hunting in specified areas. Poles, to which coconut leaves are tied, signify forbidden areas.
The system, known as sasi, is aimed at providing an opportunity for animals to breed. The system has proved itself capable of saving animals from extinction.
The demographic situation in the area has changed rapidly. The New Order government's transmigration policy has created a new demographic structure, in which Papuans are in the minority in Merauke now.
Javanese are in the majority (40 percent), followed by Makassarese (20 percent), and the Manadonese, Maduranese, Acehnese and Chinese (10 percent). The indigenous peoples of Merauke account for only 30 percent of the population. The total population of Merauke is around 100,000 people.
There are no significant ethnic conflicts in Merauke. But the influx has had serious consequences for the sustainability of the Wasur National Park. Non-indigenous people have adopted new hunting methods. They employ modern weaponry, not just bows and arrows as the indigenous people used.
According to many sources, modern hunters obtain their weapons and ammunition illegally, sometimes even from the police. They usually ignore the sasi system. They also ignore hunting quotas. As a result, there has been a significant decrease in the animal population.
Kristianus Dimar, 70, a leader of the Kanume tribe, said that it was now very difficult to obtain kangaroo, deer or wild boar. "It was once very easy for a group of hunters to get five animals; now it is difficult even to get one," he said.
The tribes usually consume the meat or sell it in the market. They make Rp 10,000 for a kilogram of kangaroo meat, and Rp 15,000 for a kilo of deer meat. They use the money to buy rice, sugar, coffee and soap. They need Rp 400.000 to cover the monthly cost of living of a family. When there were no modern hunters, they could live easily. But now it is hard for them to make money. They also have to eat more rubber than meat, since meat is very hard to get.
For their carbohydrate intake, they consume rubber (checking) and sago flour. But the damage caused to the forest has left sago difficult to find. "I feel full when I eat sago. I don't feel that way when I eat rice," said Kristianus.
He and the members of his tribe are unable to do much to stop the illegal modern hunting methods as they have only bows and arrows while the hunters have automatic weapons. For large predators, modern hunting has also resulted in a lack of prey.
Besides ecological damage, modern hunting also threatens the lives of the indigenous people. Simple agriculture and hunting are the only skills they have. Such skills have sustained them for hundreds of years without modern intervention.
The modern economic system has marginalized them since the things they have to sell have a low value. The animals they hunt have, thus far, been the most expensive products they have to sell. Besides hunting, they also make money by selling forest products like papaya, oranges and candlenuts.
Most local adults are elementary school graduates. Their relative lack of education leaves them unable to join the modern bureaucracy. They are smart and their grammatical skills in Bahasa Indonesia are very good, much better than those of many Javanese villagers. But so-called modernization in many aspects of their lives leaves them marginalized.
From being hunter-gatherers, they have been forced to leave their homes and try to find their way within the world of trade and industry. This is gross injustice, as Mgr. Nicolaus Adi Seputra MSC, the Archbishop of Merauke, notes. Modernization represents a point of no return, and this has greatly prejudiced the Wasur people.
Protection and appreciation for the local culture and ecology would be an appropriate way of liberating the Wasur people in their own homeland.
The writer is a researcher with the SET Foundation and lecturer at Atma Jaya Catholic University, Jakarta
Wasur National Park is essential for the well-being of Merauke, South Papua.
Located 13 kilometers from the city, Rawa Biru, the 10,400 (checking units) area of open water in the center of the park is also a water source of the city's people. The national park is very rich in terms of biodiversity.
Melaleuca eucalyptus, savanna, mangrove and lowland forest can be seen. In the park, 390 animal species, including 80 mammal species, are to be found. Tribes numbering some 2,550 people live in 14 villages. They have existed for hundreds of years in the park, surviving on simple planting and hunting.
Demographic changes in Merauke have endangered their livelihoods, as modern hunting and illegal logging pose a threat to Papua's richest park in term of biodiversity.
The park is very beautiful indeed. After turning left from the Merauke road, a very rich lowland forest can be seen. Eucalyptus trees stand tall everywhere. Many bird species, like cockatoos and parrots screech loudly.
Between the bushes, white ants build their mounds from soil. Unlike Javanese white ants, which live underground, the white ants of Wasur build their nests like towers. They can reach four meters in height. You can find the same thing in Australia.
There are many animal species in the park, including birds, deer, kangaroos, wild pigs and reptiles. Lying east of the Wallace Line, Papua has no tigers. The main predators in the ecosystem are eagles, crocodiles, snakes and humans.
The tribes usually hunt deer, kangaroos and wild boars to satisfy their protein needs. Present-day economic realities mean they also now sell the animals since they are the only products with a high value that they have to trade.
The local tribes hunt using sustainable methods. At certain times, people are forbidden from hunting in specified areas. Poles, to which coconut leaves are tied, signify forbidden areas.
The system, known as sasi, is aimed at providing an opportunity for animals to breed. The system has proved itself capable of saving animals from extinction.
The demographic situation in the area has changed rapidly. The New Order government's transmigration policy has created a new demographic structure, in which Papuans are in the minority in Merauke now.
Javanese are in the majority (40 percent), followed by Makassarese (20 percent), and the Manadonese, Maduranese, Acehnese and Chinese (10 percent). The indigenous peoples of Merauke account for only 30 percent of the population. The total population of Merauke is around 100,000 people.
There are no significant ethnic conflicts in Merauke. But the influx has had serious consequences for the sustainability of the Wasur National Park. Non-indigenous people have adopted new hunting methods. They employ modern weaponry, not just bows and arrows as the indigenous people used.
According to many sources, modern hunters obtain their weapons and ammunition illegally, sometimes even from the police. They usually ignore the sasi system. They also ignore hunting quotas. As a result, there has been a significant decrease in the animal population.
Kristianus Dimar, 70, a leader of the Kanume tribe, said that it was now very difficult to obtain kangaroo, deer or wild boar. "It was once very easy for a group of hunters to get five animals; now it is difficult even to get one," he said.
The tribes usually consume the meat or sell it in the market. They make Rp 10,000 for a kilogram of kangaroo meat, and Rp 15,000 for a kilo of deer meat. They use the money to buy rice, sugar, coffee and soap. They need Rp 400.000 to cover the monthly cost of living of a family. When there were no modern hunters, they could live easily. But now it is hard for them to make money. They also have to eat more rubber than meat, since meat is very hard to get.
For their carbohydrate intake, they consume rubber (checking) and sago flour. But the damage caused to the forest has left sago difficult to find. "I feel full when I eat sago. I don't feel that way when I eat rice," said Kristianus.
He and the members of his tribe are unable to do much to stop the illegal modern hunting methods as they have only bows and arrows while the hunters have automatic weapons. For large predators, modern hunting has also resulted in a lack of prey.
Besides ecological damage, modern hunting also threatens the lives of the indigenous people. Simple agriculture and hunting are the only skills they have. Such skills have sustained them for hundreds of years without modern intervention.
The modern economic system has marginalized them since the things they have to sell have a low value. The animals they hunt have, thus far, been the most expensive products they have to sell. Besides hunting, they also make money by selling forest products like papaya, oranges and candlenuts.
Most local adults are elementary school graduates. Their relative lack of education leaves them unable to join the modern bureaucracy. They are smart and their grammatical skills in Bahasa Indonesia are very good, much better than those of many Javanese villagers. But so-called modernization in many aspects of their lives leaves them marginalized.
From being hunter-gatherers, they have been forced to leave their homes and try to find their way within the world of trade and industry. This is gross injustice, as Mgr. Nicolaus Adi Seputra MSC, the Archbishop of Merauke, notes. Modernization represents a point of no return, and this has greatly prejudiced the Wasur people.
Protection and appreciation for the local culture and ecology would be an appropriate way of liberating the Wasur people in their own homeland.
The writer is a researcher with the SET Foundation and lecturer at Atma Jaya Catholic University, Jakarta
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