The Tale of an Ostracized Governor

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

The Jakarta provincial government is helping renovate the home of the late Henk Ngantung (1921-1991). A year ago the house of Jakarta's second governor, located in Cawang, East Jakarta, was still dilapidated. After he was fired from his post, Henk's life became pitiable. He lived in a narrow alley, going almost totally blind and ostracized for his alleged involvement in the events of 1965.

Sukarno appointed Henk as governor in 1964 because he believed the artist could beautify Jakarta. Henk was a member of the Indonesian Artist's Union, set up by S.Sudjojono and Agus Djajasuminta. As a sketch artist he was always present at historic moments during negotiations between Indonesia and the Netherlands.

Henk only held office for one year. Tempo spoke to his widow on their difficult lives after 1965. We also reviewed Henk's legendary Memanah (Archery) painting, which Sukarno believed to be his 'talisman' durring the independence proclamation, and his Linggarjati sketches, whose great value derives in part from the signatures on them of all participants in the negotiations.

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This room once served as Henk Ngantung's painting studio," said Hetty Eveline Mamesah alias Evie, the 74-year-old widow of the late Henk Ngantung, after welcoming us warmly. "After he died, I turned it into a living area."

The home of the Sukarno era's last governor of Jakarta stands at the end of Gang Jambu, a narrow alleyway in a densely packed area off Jalan Dewi Sartika in Cawang, East Jakarta. Quite a large area of vacant land remains behind the

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