National History Museum – Jakarta, Indonesia

In the base of the National Monument or Monas (a 132m-high column towering over Merdeka Square and dubbed “Soekarno’s final erection”), the National History Museum is a diorama exhibit hosted in a windowless hall in decrepit conditions. In early 2009 the mayor of Central Jakarta asked to take over the management of the monument to improve its conditions.

Outside: This extravagant monument is Jakarta’s primary landmark, a symbol of Indonesia’s independence and strength, erected in 1961. The monument was not opened until 1975, when it was inaugurated by Soeharto. The column is topped with a sculpted flame, gilded with 35kg of gold leaf. The highlight of the visit is to take the lift to the top for dramatic and smoggy views of Jakarta.

Inside: The museum consists of 48 diorama windows illustrating Indonesian history, an attempt to reinvent the multi-ethnic and multi-cultural history of the thousands Indonesian islands as a nationalistic struggle for unity that had been ongoing since the Bronze age. The numerous uprisings against external invaders are overstated, Soekarno is barely mentioned, and the 1965 coup is whitewashed. But this museum is part of the cultural history of the country, hence worth visiting. (Last visited 12/2005)