Surakarta officials wear traditional Javanese clothing as new policy

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Fri, 02/10/2012 12:24 PM


Surakarta Mayor Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and Deputy Mayor F.X. Hadi Rudyatmo sported a new look on Thursday, as they wore men’s traditional Javanese clothing, known as beskap, to work.

Jokowi and his deputy departed from the usual dress code to introduce a new policy that, starting from next week, will require all public officers in Surakarta to wear beskap or kebaya (women’s traditional Javanese clothing) to work on Thursdays.

“This policy aims to preserve traditional cloth. If no one wears it, it will be gone!” Jokowi said as quoted by kompas.com.

Jokowi further elaborated that the newly introduced policy aimed to boost the income of cottage industries producing batik, kebaya and blangkon (traditional Javanese hat).

“If no one wears blangkon, then the produces of blangkon will be reluctant to produce it, since there is no one to buy it,” Jokowi added.

People are often reluctant to wear traditional Javanese clothes because they are quite difficult to wear. Therefore, Jokowi requested the traditional clothes association Ratna Busana Solo to make the old-fashioned clothes easier to wear. For example, jarik (a long cloth to worn around the waist, draping down to the feet) has been sewn like a skirt so that it was easy to wear. Buckles can also be used to tighten this traditional fabric.

Jokowi’s deputy, Hadi Rudyatmo, said that he could wear beskap by himself.

“I dressed up myself. It was easy to wear, and I didn’t need anybody’s assistance,” he said.

Jokowi also said that the clothes are very affordable. He is sure that most officials have jarik in their houses.

If some officials do not have beskap or kebaya, they could buy clothes and have them tailored.

“You can buy the cheapest ones [beskap and kebaya], or you can also buy the most expensive ones,” he said.

However, the policy provides some exceptions for officials working in the field, such as Surakarta Public Order Agency officers [Satpol PP] and Transportation Department officers. The nature of their work prevents them from being able to wear such clothes.

An official at the Surakarta municipality office, Budiman, worried that the traditional clothes will make him less active at work. However, he was confident that he would get accustomed to it as time goes by.

“It’s a positive thing to do to preserve Javanese culture” Budiman said.

In the future, students in Surakarta will also be required to wear the same traditional Javanese clothing. (riz)