COVER

ROYAL REALIST
HH Hamengku Buwono X is an enigma in Indonesia. In a country that is a republic, he
retains his title of Sultan of Yogyakarta and is' also the elected governor of the Special
Region of Yogyakarta. He is highly respected by his people and admired for his efforts
in promoting the region as a centre for business, education and culture. However, on
27 May this year, his focus changed when an earthquake killed some 6,000 people
and left more than 600,000 homeless.
text DITRI KEMALA RIZKI photos ADAM GLEN

y first concern is the housing sector," the

"We are not only talking about contracting, but how we

Sultan explains when we meet him in his

should design a working plan for people to form a cooperative

spacious office in the palace compound.

group to rebuild their own homes. We will provide assistance in

The architecture is Dutch colonial and

designing an earthquake-proof house, but we will leave the style

the furniture is antique Javanese, with

to them. But that will not be enough of course so, as a priority we

paintings of country scenes and portraits of his ancestors. It is in

are trying to provide a base, column structure and roof that are

these rooms that he receives his guests, including many heads of

quake-proof. The walls can be added in later, or even plastic

states from overseas. He is dressed today in a Western business

could be used for the time being," he says.

suit, but he is equally at home in batik or military drill when on the

"The first to get these will be the underprivileged who do

not have the money to start rebuilding. Many of these people are

road.
His manner is regal; he speaks firmly (with a slight
Javanese accent) and logically sometimes he is famously

still living in tents, which has been fine until now, but there will be
problems when the rainy season kicks in," he says.

outspoken. His mind is methodical, well informed, ordered and,

"We shall concentrate firstly on the villages within

although he has a very friendly manner, his messages are clear.

Yogyakarta," says the Sultan. "As a first phase, we shall build

"The central government has the obligation to help rebuild

those 40,000 homes with community involvement. For example,

houses destroyed by the earthquake. That is now happening, but

10 people will build 10 homes. We are calling on gotong royong

it is taking time. According to a statement from Jakarta, they are

(the basic Indonesian concept of mutual cooperation and

looking at some 206,000 houses. They say funds for this will

self-help), all the while trying to minimise social resentment. We

gradually be taken from the National Budget 2006-07. The first

will try to rebuild so that everyone can enjoy a better living

phase will use about 20 per cent, which means only enough

environment. If there was no water before, we will make a well.

money to rebuild 40,000 homes.

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"There are other smaller measures we are also

putting in place," he adds. "We distributed community
brick-making machines to be used to make new bricks and
roof tiles, while we still aim to recycle usable ones from
ruined houses. We are providing incentives for workers in
the hope that they will help revive the economy within the
villages.
"Meantime, have instructed my staff to enlist
university students with architectural or civil engineering
backgrounds to assist these communities with advice,
especially in ways of rebuilding structures that are earth quake-proof."
When you look at the cost for this, it does not se em
unachievable, especially in the first phase.

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"Foundation, upright structure and roof including

labour fees are about Rp15,000,000 (about US$1,500). To
avoid price hikes, we are trying to supply much of the
material cement and sand, with bricks hopefully being
made by the community," explains the Sultan. "And,
hopefully, earthquake victims can make a profit along with
a new house because they can sell materials and their
labour.
"If our master plan is followed, there will be full
accountability. All of the aid comes under the supervision
of the Badan Pengawasan Keuangan (National Auditor's
Department), so there should be no spending without clear
receipts," he says.

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Inside the Palace Museum

A wrecked sedan chair

"AS SULTAN, I CAN OFFER SUPPORT, GET PEOPLE TOGETHER AND HELP THEM
UNDERSTAND THIS WAS A NATURAL DISASTER THAT WAS NOBODY'S FAULT."

"Presidential Decree No. 9 Year 2006 stated that the

Governor is the executor and guarantor in the recovery
process. The earthquake made things confusing enough, so
with this, everything should go through only one channel. As
Sultan, I can offer support, get people together and, more
importantly, call on local wisdom, the gotong royong spirit of
harmony, to help them to understand this was a natural
disaster that has to be accepted as nobody's fault.
"With this in mind, I also want to inject new zest and
enthusiasm into the people. We pray together for those who
lost their homes or loved ones, but the cycle of life must
continue.
"My expectation is that my people will also be creative
and not depend fully on others to donate funds because
these are limited. Therefore, the only way to survive is
through creativity and dynamic self-initiative."

to begin clearing the rubble. Then there was the help from
fellow Indonesians. People from Magelang, Wonosobo,
Temanggung, Jawa Timur, Kediri and Madiun are still coming to Yogya with food and the offer to help clear debris. All
for free. People from Kediri even erected an open kitchen for
the homeless. They are only small farmers. They are all truly
extraordinary people."
After housing, public infrastructure is the next prob lem, especially in the sectors of health and education. Water
has been restored as only secondary irrigation systems were
damaged. "With the current budget, however, we can only
repair half the elementary schools because the junior and
senior high schools are under the authority of the central
government," the Sultan adds. "They will probably have to
use tents temporarily. And we have organised double
classes in the mornings and afternoons."

THE PEOPLE
In the face of this disaster, the people of Yogyakarta have

SINGLE POLICY
"The one-door policy will link every sector and government
department. We shall set up an information flow through IT,
which can be read by anyone. Therefore, if there is nongovernmental aid coming in, it will be a simple procedure,
clear and transparent. Interested parties can channel their
donations to whichever sector they wish to help .

given their Sultan reason to be proud.

"As I went around on the Sunday after the
earth-quake, I could see the trauma; I watched people sitting
on rattan mats, in a state of shock and depression. But only a
day later, people were using their initiative in volunteering

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"For international institutions, it will be the same a

one-door policy; it will not be like Aceh. Each NGO brings its
own funding and makes its own tender. When the project
houses were built in Aceh, they just left, without caring
whether the houses would in fact be used or not. Here in
Yogya, that will not happen."

COORDINATION
"When a disaster occurs, there is difficulty among all
departments of the central and local governments, and
within NGOS and help from abroad. It is unbelievably
difficult," says the Sultan.
"Now, with my experience after the May earthquake,
I think Indonesia as a whole (remember the whole country
lies on fault lines) needs to establish a Rescue Task Force
Institution, which would be able to mobilise all emergency
action on a central and provincial level. And this should
apply also to floods, landslides and volcano eruptions. This
Institution should be able to leap into instant action to help
people.
"As for foreign help/their rescue units' first job was to
help victims on the ground. Then they built emergency
hospitals for the injured. I asked them to do this, and all the
while we had to take into account the possibility of more
destructive aftershocks.
"For example, some Malaysians came to the rescue
of an old lady buried under some concrete. The locals were
trying to hack it away, but the relief team had the equipment
and got her out in no time. Practical things like this as we
have no experience in speedy rescue procedures.
"As we look around the greater Yogya area, the approach is different and there is a good and bad side to this.
The good side is that the victims who do not want to leave
their destroyed homes have set up tents near them, therefore
looting has been rare during the disaster. My friends who
came to help were surprised to be served tea, and they were
impressed by how appreciative the people were. A bond
grew, just by their being able to say thank you in person.
"Many of the people were living in refugee shelters,
but the rest were scattered in 100,000 tents, so the distri bution system was tedious because we had to go door-todoor; if people had all been concentrated in the refugee
tents, it would have been a much easier task. We had to
.

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(and still have to) provide trucks, first for the city and then
the mountain areas. We also had to use helicopters th ere to
fly in food.
"Donations were gratefully accepted, but most of it
was instant noodles, rice and blankets," explains the
Sultan. "What was also needed were necessities for women
and children. So it became my wife's responsibility to
provide these beginning from underwear, bras and
sanitary pads to toothbrushes, sarongs and other things.
We either bought them or asked friends to donate, so
money could go elsewhere.
"I felt rather awkward at first, but when I told my friend
Rudy about the problem, he said not to say any more; he
immediately sent six trucks with women's sanitary needs.
"It is worthwhile for NGOs and foreign governments
to know that while blankets and rice are important, I have
the authority to ask BULOG to take out 100 tonnes of rice for
disaster relief. Therefore, what happened was that when the
people received the 10-kg rice distribution, they sold it
because they still had rice left in their shattered homes.
"Another touchy problem was that young married
couples had no privacy in one-room tents, so there was
some embarrassment. Tents with separate rooms would be
much better," smiles the Sultan.

POLITICS
Politics and politicians have always been sensitive subjects
for the Sultans of Yogyakarta. Sultan Hamengku Buwono is
at once territorial and philosophical.
"It is the local government's duty to assist the
community, therefore politicians from Jakarta should not
interfere," he says. "But if a political party wants to help, we
will accept by all means. But I would not allow them to hoi st
their party's flag while they do it.
"My expectation is that when we are talking about a
disaster, please talk in the name of humanity, don't scare
people with anything else whether it be politics, special
interests or religion."

HELP
Things are progressing, but Yogyakarta is still in dire need
of help. The Sultan is very clear and precise

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"I will accept help in any form with open arms. I cannot
specifically point to one item because we have an obligation to
ensure recovery in all areas. The most important thing is that
tourists from Indonesia and abroad should feel safe in coming
back to Jogja. While the earthquake was disastrous, it affected
less than 15 per cent of Jogja's total area."
He adds a word about another simmering problem, as if
the area needs more troubles. But nearby Mount Merapi has been
threatening, if not to erupt, then certainly it has been letting off
steam.
"Merapi will never explode totally; there might be an
eruption, but that would only affect about 10 km beyond that
(and that includes the city) is safe.
"We would also like to see conventions and meetings here in
Jogja," adds the Sultan. "Four hotels are being renovated; the
Sheraton suffered the most damage; the Ibis, Melia and Jayakarta
were slightly damaged; and the Novotel is already back in
business. But our people are working very hard to make sure
convention, meeting and exhibition spaces have been repaired to
full capacity."

FUTURE
"After the earthquake, made efforts to set up an investment
scheme where, if we invest one point, we should not only achieve
a profit of 1.5 points, but three points; even better if it is five points.
"We are focussing on the technology sector with the aim of
being the leader in the implementation of standardisation from raw
materials to finished items produced in Yogya in order to have a
higher price tag. For example, furniture export from Yogya is about
30 to 40 containers a month. But don't forget we get many
complaints such as poor quality, especially with cracking. The
Ministry for Small and Medium Enterprises cannot invest in
technology, so we do hands-on investment in things like kilns, so
wood will be dry before being processed and exported, thus
avoiding cracks."
The Sultan is buoyant and optimistic about the future of his
province and people. Good things (such as earthquake-proof
houses) will come out of this disaster. Yogyakarta will recover and
move on.
"In Yogya, there is a saying," muses the Sultan. "To lose
our wealth is nothing. If we lose our life, a part of ourselves is gone.
But if we lose our dignity, then we have lost everything." A

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