"Currently, cultural officers are still collecting data; we hope that this year, a proposal can be drafted so that the buildings can be designated as cultural heritage," West Bangka's Tourism and Culture Office Secretary Bambang Haryo Suseno said here on Tuesday.
The plan for seeking historical cultural heritage status for the four buildings is a part of the local government's efforts to preserve them.
From 2018 to 2020, the West Bangka administration designated 24 historical buildings as cultural heritage.
"This year, we started the preservation program again by proposing four buildings, namely a former fort, Gelora Field, a prison, and a former Chinese school, to be designated as cultural heritage," Suseno informed.
The former fort, which was a military dormitory complex, currently functions as the Mentok City Police station, while Gelora Field, where Indonesia's first President, Soekarno, delivered a speech once, was originally a square built in the Dutch colonial period.
The prison, which is still functioning as a detention center, is located beside the Indonesian Tin Museum in Mentok, and the former Chinese community school (Cung Hua School) is in Mentok's old market complex.
The West Bangka administration is striving to obtain cultural heritage status for the buildings as soon as possible so that efforts can be made to protect, develop, and utilize them, in accordance with Law No. 11 of 2010 concerning Cultural Heritage.
District-level recognition of cultural heritage buildings is expected to increase welfare through development, implementation, and supervision policies.
West Bangka has the most cultural heritage buildings in Bangka Belitung Islands, which reflects the local government's commitment to managing and preserving the wealth of cultural heritage in the region.
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Translator: Donatus P, Kenzu
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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