Forbes List The 40 Richest People in Indonesia

FORBES ASIA’s kickoff list of the 40 richest Indonesians reveals the emerging nation’s biggest asset: its people. Indonesia is the fourth-most-populous country in the world, with 230 million folks who call its 17,500 islands home. As a result, more than half of Indonesia’s Rich Listers made their fortunes catering to the mass market.

Forbes Magazine published on Thursday the 2009 list of Indonesia’s 40 richest people. The owners of the Djarum group, Budi and Michael Hartono, still topped the list with estimated wealth of $7 billion.

The magazine wrote that investors were in love with Indonesia after the country’s benchmark stock index rose 115 percent in local currency in the past 12 months — Asia’s second best performer behind China’s Shenzhen SE Composite.

It was no surprise that the wealth of Indonesia’s richest people continued to increase. The collective worth of the nation’s top 40 has doubled to $42 billion from $21 billion last year and is up $2 billion from its prior peak in 2007, the magazine said.  Resources kings were prominent on the list.  Low Tuck Kwong, owner of Bayan Resources, was a newcomer on the list after his stocks rose 474 percent in the last year.

Another coal billionaire, Aburizal Bakrie, chairman of the Golkar Party, improved his ranking after his holding in Bumi Resources increased in value.

The List: Indonesia’s 40 Richest People

1. R. Budi & Michael Hartono US$ 7 billion
2. Martua Sitorus US$ 3 billion
3. Susilo Wonowidjojo US$ 2.6 billion
4. Aburizal Bakrie US$ 2.5 billion
5. Eka Tjipta Widjaja US$ 2.4 billion
6. Peter Sondakh US$ 2.1 billion
7. Putera Sampoerna US$ 2 billion
8. Sukanto Tanoto US$ 1.9 billion
9. Anthoni Salim US$ 1.4 billion
10. Soegiharto Sosrodjojo US$ 1.2 billion
11. Low Tuck Kwong US$ 1.18 billion
12. Eddy William Katuari US$ 1.1 billion
13. Chairul Tanjung US$ 990 million
14. Garibaldi Thohir US$ 930 million
15. Theodore Rachmat US$ 900 million
16. Edwin Soeryadjaya US$ 800 million
17. Trihatma Haliman US$ 750 million
18. Ciliandra Fangiono US$ 710 million
19. Arifin Panigoro US$ 650 million
20. Murdaya Poo US$ 600 million
21. Hashim Djojohadikusumo US$ 500 million
22. Kusnan & Rusdi Kirana US$ 480 million
23. Prajogo Pangestu US$ 475 million
24. Harjo Sutanto US$ 470 million
25. Mochtar Riady US$ 440 million
26. Eka Tjandranegara US$ 430 million
27. Ciputra US$ 420 million
28. Hary Tanoesoedibjo US$ 410 million
29. Sandiaga Uno US$ 400 million
30. Boenjamin Setiawan US$ 395 million
31. Alim Markus US$ 350 million
32. Aksa Mahmud US$ 330 million
33. Sutanto Djuhar US$ 325 million
34. Kartini Muljadi US$ 320 million
35. Soegiarto Adikoesoemo US$ 300 million
36. George Santosa Tahija & Sjakon George Tahija US$ 290 million
37. Paulus Tumewu US$ 280 million
38. Husain Djojonegoro US$260 million
39. Bachtiar Karim US$ 250 million
40. Kris Wiluan US$ 240 million

Source Jakarta Globe & Forbes

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International World Robotic Olympiade

Medan students proved that they can compete and win International Competitions and events. After several wins from World Wushu Championships by the North Sumatra Wushu Team, today the students from Prime One School Medan show their ability by winning several categories in the International World Robotic Olympiade (WRO) held in Pohang, Postech (University of Science and Technology) Korea.

The prestigious  World Robotic Olympic event was pursued by more than 1.000 participants from 24 countries including Korea, Germany, Denmark, Swedia, Hongkong, Taipei, Ukraina, Yunani, Singapore, China, Rusia, Malaysia, Thailand, India, Philipines, Emirates Arab, Peru, Indonesia etc..

The Pride of Medan: The World Robotic Olympiade (WRO) Team from Prime One School (POS) received a warm welcome back from teachers and students from the school as they returned to Medan with pride and honor.

All three Robotic teams from POS that participated in the event wins!

• Ivy Icasia and Patricia Dissy Andrea both Secondary 3 students in Team Creator won 2nd place in the Junior Category.
• Billy Hocker Wistan and  Fenando both Secondaru 3 students in Team Alpha Rex won 3rd place in Junior Category.
• Kelvin Onggadinata and Margaretha Hutabarat both Primary 6 students in Team Innocent won 5th place in the Elementary Category.

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Batik Day 02 Oct: Unesco Lists Batik As Indonesian Cultural Heritage

Antara, The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization has officially recognized batik as an Indonesian cultural treasure, Coordinating Minister for People’s Welfare Aburizal Bakrie said on Monday.

Indonesians have been asked to wear batik on Oct. 2, following UNESCO’s decision to add the traditional dyeing technique to its Intangible Cultural Heritage list.

The listing, which will give the age-old batik tradition some degree of protection under the UNESCO charter, will be made official at an event in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates, between Sep. 28 and
Oct. 2.

To acknowledge the listing, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has asked all Indonesians to wear batik.

“Batik is regarded as a cultural icon with its own uniqueness. It contains symbols and a deep philosophy of the human life cycle — and it was submitted by Indonesia as a non-material element of cultural heritage,” Coordinating Minister for the People’s Welfare Aburizal Bakrie told a press conference at Bogor Presidential Palace on Monday.

“We’ve been told that batik has been recognized as an element of global cultural heritage produced by Indonesians. The President has called on all Indonesians to wear batik on Oct. 2, to celebrate batik.”

Batik is a wax-resistant dyeing technique used on textiles. Due to modern advances in the textile industry, the term is also used for fabrics incorporating traditional batik patterns that are not necessarily produced using traditional batik techniques.

In the past, Indonesians, mostly adults, wear batik only at formal events. Nowadays it has become increasingly popular even among the younger generation with batik factories starting to manufacture more wearer-friendly and fashionable batik outfits.

Many office workers now wear batik on a daily basis, while local designers compete to produce more attractive designs.

While batik originated in Javanese courts, several other regions in Indonesia also have their own styles of batik. The fabric is also widely worn in countries such as Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.

Aburizal explained that the jury team from UNESCO, before declaring batik an element of global cultural heritage, had inquired about the origins of Indonesian batik, on the government’s protection of it and to what extent batik was a part of local community life.

Meanwhile, Culture and Tourism Minister Jero Wacik said that in 2003, the UN body named wayang (Indonesia’s traditional shadow puppets) and keris (traditional wavy blades) as elements of non-material cultural heritage.

“And now we are submitting angklung (traditional musical instrument made of bamboo) as an element of global cultural heritage from Indonesia,” Jero said.

“We will keep fighting for our heritage one tradition at a time.”

Support for Batik Indonesia in Facebook Batik Indonesia

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Indonesia receive recognition from the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) that has declared Indonesian Batik as a world legacy

What is Batik?

Batik is a wax-resist dyeing technique used on textile. Due to modern advances in the textile industry the term has also been used for fabrics which incorporates the traditional batik patterns although not necessarily produced using the batik techniques. Silk batik is especially popular.

Javanese traditional batik, especially from Yogyakarta, has special meanings rooted to the Javanese conceptualization of the universe. Traditional colors include indigo, dark brown, and white which represent the three major Hindu Gods (Brahm?, Vi??u, and ?iva). This is related to the fact that natural dyes are only available in indigo and brown.

Certain patterns can only be worn by nobility; traditionally, wider stripes or wavy lines of greater width indicated higher rank. Consequently, during Javanese ceremonies, one could determine the royal lineage of a person by the cloth he or she was wearing.

Other regions of Indonesia have their own unique patterns which normally take themes from everyday lives, incorporating patterns such as flowers, nature, animals, folklore or people. The colors of pesisir batik is especially vibrant, and it absorbs influence from the Javanese, Chinese and Dutch culture. In the colonial times pesisir batik was a favorite of the Peranakan Chinese, Dutch and Eurasians.

Batik or fabrics with the traditional batik patterns similar to the Indonesian batik are also found in several countries such as West Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, Uganda and Mali, the Caribbean, Saint Kitts and Nevis and Saint Lucia, and in Asia, such as India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Iran, Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand and Burma. Malaysian batik normally displays plants and flowers due to the Islamic culture in the country.

The beauty of Batik is a tribute to the patience, creativity of the woman of Java, the main island of Indonesia. Credit should be also given to men who prepare the cloth and handle the dyeing and finishing process.

The word “batik” is Indonesian in origin, even if the concept was known by Egyptians and Indians.
It is known to be more than a millennium old, and there are evidences that cloth decorated through some form of resist technique was in use in the early centuries AD in several West African, Middle-Eastern and Asian communities.

The word Batik is originally an Indonesian-Malay word and means to dot .

History of Batik

This art of textile is spread in the hindu and malay world, but Indonesia is certainly the heart of the Batik. This way of painting and coloring textile has reached its higher degree of excellence in the Island of Java , in cities like Solo, Yogyakarta, Pekalongan or Cirebon.

From Java this ‘batik’ cloth was exported to other islands of the archipelago and to the Malay peninsula. During the past two or three centuries batik has become one of the principal means of expression of the spiritual and cultural values of Southeast Asia.

Finely detailed designs are first drawn freehand with a pencil on the textile. Then hot liquid wax is applied.  A Javanese woman applying wax in the intricately involved patterns with a canting (tjanting), a small copper container with a long  slender spout. From time to time she blows on the tip of the canting to secure an easy flow of the wax.

Areas not slated for coloring are filed with the wax. the cloth is then passed through a vat of dye. The wax is removed with hot water, scraped from the portions of the dried material still to be dyed. Next, other areas are waxed over. this is repeated during each phase of the coloring process, up to four or more times, until the overall pattern and effect are achieved.

The pride of Indonesians to wear batik till the present day has preserve this art of textile.

Batik in UNESCO’s list of intangible cultural heritage for Indonesia

Recently, the Jakarta post reported that Indonesia has diligently made all efforts to request that batik be included on the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization, UNESCO’s list of intangible cultural heritage.

Gaura Mancacaritadipura, a dalang (a shadow puppeteer) who is a consultant for the nomination process, said, “What we have requested to be listed is the negative-printed batik: batik that is painted or printed manually by hand.”

Members of the committee tasked to collect the documentation needed for the batik listing have been interviewing the grass roots and recording batik-related activities in communities since 2007.

“We invited prominent figures in the batik world from many cities: Malang, Tuban, they all came and welcomed the efforts to put batik on the UNESCO list,” Batik has been part of Indonesian people’s lives for centuries. “As an example, for hundreds of years batik has been a part of the labuhan ritual, the tradition of throwing one’s troubles into the sea in materials that sail away.”

Gaura added, “UNESCO requires the documentation to not only come from experts, but also, and more importantly, to come from communities. A subsidiary body made a decision in May which has not yet been disclosed,”

Six countries were in the subsidiary body: Kenya, South Korea, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Mexico and Estonia.The Intergovernmental Committee – the UNESCO assembly in October consisting of 24 countries – will make the final decision on the list.

Dindin Wahyudin, the country’s deputy ambassador for UNESCO, said the effort to put batik on the list was not about property or copyright but about safeguarding culture in certain regions. It is about preservation. “This also has nothing to do with Malaysia taking out copyrights on batik,” he said, adding that what Malaysia recently claimed as their copyrights were certain batik patterns, not batik as a cultural heritage.

Dindin said Malaysia had not ratified the convention and so far no other country had requested a similar item to batik to be put on the list. Both Dindin and Gaura said Indonesia was justifiably optimistic that batik would be included on the list. Gaura said batik was found in 19 out of the 33 provinces in the country. From Aceh to Papua, batik is everywhere, with patterns unique to the region. And we are talking about the real batik, which involves a different process to the mass industrial printing process.

If batik succeeds in making it onto the list, UNESCO’s support will go directly to the people and not through any government agency as we received as a result of the inclusion of wayang and keris on the list. Keris, the Javanese traditional dagger, made it onto the list in 2003, while wayang, the Javanese leather puppet, in 2005.

Adidas: Indonesia Batik in Fashion

Indonesia to receive recognition from UNESCO

The Embassy of Indonesia and Tempo Interactive further reported that The head of the Sekar Jagad Foundation, Suliantor Sulaiman (one of several batik lover foundations that provided data and statements about Indonesian batik to UNESCO) announced that Indonesia would receive recognition from the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) that has declared Indonesian Batik as a world legacy. “This will be announced on 02 October 2009,” added Sulaiman.

For more information about batik Indonesia and to show your support for Batik, see Batik Indonesia Facebook Fans

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Facebook »”>Facebook for Medan Fans

Great News!

We have received many requests from our readers about setting up a Facebook Fan site for Medan! And finally, we have got round setting one up this morning just for you. You can now connect with us through your Facebook!

Connect with other Medan Fans, share your views, post your thoughts and even upload photos and videos about Medan to our Medan Fan Page.

Simply go to our Facebook page, click on “become a fan” and you can now receive instant updates to your facebook.

Our main missions for Facebook Medan Fan Site:

1. Connecting with all Medan fans with updates in their facebook.
2. For Medanese and fans of Medan who loves Medan and be proud of Medan.
3. Help promote Medan to the world, so that fans can easily share Medan news, information and updates to their friends in Facebook.
4. Join us, become a fan and show your love of Medan
5. Remember to spread the word and click on “Suggest to Friends” in our Medan Facebook page
6. You can easily get to the page or share with our simple URL: http://medanku.com/see/facebook

If you have a twitter account, twitter.com/medan” target=”_blank”>follow us in Twitter @medan

For now, here are some of the updates in Medan Facebook Site and our recent fans. Thanks for all your support.

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History of The Tjong A Fie Mansion

A prominent home located in the heart of Medan City at Kesawan Square, this beautiful mansion is full of characters and cultures behind its history in Medan. Now, for limited time only, the mansion is opened to visitors for an inside look at the true history of Tjong A Fie, a historic man.

The Tjong A Fie Memorial Institure

Open to Public: 18 June 2009 – 18 August 2009

The History of Tjong A Fie

Tjong Fung Nam, born from Hakka family and more popularly known as Tjong A Fie is born on 1860 in the village of Sungkow, Moyan or Meixien.  He was raised from a simple home, with his elder brother Tjong Yong Hian.  Both have to give up schooling from a young age to help their father in his shop.  Even with limited education, Tjong A Fie quickly learned the business and trading skills and soon pursued his dreams to become independent and successful, hence leaving his village in search for a better life.

Tjong A fie

In 1880, after sailing for months, he finally arrived at the port of Deli (Medan).  At that time his brother Tjong Yong Hian had already been living in Sumatra for 5 years and had became a respected merchant in Sumatra.  However, the independent Tjong A Fie wanted to find his own living and went about finding his own work.  Tjong A Fie started to learn and develop business skills from working for Tjong Sui Fo. He developed his social skills interacting with people of all races, Chinese, Melayu, Arab, India, including Dutch.  He began by learning the language Bahasa Melayu which became the national language used in Medan Deli.

The Entertaining Hall

Tjong A Fie grew and became a well respected person in Medan Sumatra, where he stayed away from gambling, alcohol and prostitution in the developing town of Medan.  With his strong sense of leadership and fairness, he became the mediator for the Chinese. The Dutch also seek his help when their plantations have problems with labor issues.  His ability to solve these issues earned him to become the Chinese lieutenant. With his outstanding performance, he was elected to become a Captain (Kapiten).

The various rooms

Tjong A Fie was known as a respected businessman who has good social networks and has build good relation with the Sultan Deli, Makmoen Al Rasjid Perkasa Alamsjah and Tuanku Raja Moeda.  As they became good friends, Tjong A Fie became his trusted person and helped dealt with many business matters.

Tjong A Fie also became the first Chinese to own a tobacco plantation. He also developed and expanded to tea plantation in Bandar Baroe and large coconut/palm oil plantations.

Along with his elder brother Tjong Yong Hian, Tjong A Fie joint partner with Tio Tiaw Siat also known as Chang Pi Shih, his uncle as well as consulate of China in Singapore and set up a railway company known as The Chow-Chow & Swatow Railyway Co.Ltd. in China

The Bedroom

Tjong A Fie, a very active social contributor, donated much of his wealth building many facilities for the welfare of the poor regardless of race, cultural beliefs or nationality including many places of worships such as Chinese & Hindu temple, Mosques and Churches.

As a well respected person in Medan who owns many plantations, palm oil and sugar factories, banks and railway companies, he employed more than 10.000 workers. As recommended by Sultan Deli, Tjong A Fie was appointed member of gemeenteraad (city council) and cultuurraad (cultural council)

4 February 1921, Tjong A Fie passed away from apopleksia or bleeding in the brain, in his home at Jalan Kesawan, Medan.  It shook the city Medan, thousands flock to pay respect from all over including Sumatera Timur, Aceh, Padang, Penang, Malaysia, Singapore and Java. He became a legend known by many in Medan till today.

Four months before his death, Tjong A Fie wrote his will in the presence of notary Dirk Johan Facquin den Grave. Written in his will, he wanted all his wealth to be managed by Yayasan Toen Moek Tong which was established in Medan and Sungkow at the time of his death. The Yayasan based in Medan has been given 5 missions. Three of them are to provide financial help to young talented people that wished to complete their education, without no cultural or racial choice. Yayasan will also help the disabled who are no longer able to work including the blind or those with fatal illness.  Thirdly, the Yayasan will also help victims of natural disaster of any race or nationality.

For a more concise History in Bahasa Indonesia read at Tjong A Fie Indonesia

The Tjong A Fie Memorial Institure
Jl. Jend A. Yani No. 105 Medan
North Sumatera – Indonesia

Open to Public: 18 June 2009 – 18 August 2009

Tel: 081 3960 29769

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Sejarah Tjong A Fie

The History (in Bahasa Indonesia) | English version = The Tjong A Fie Mansion

Tjong Fung Nam yang lebih populler dengan nama gelarnya dengan Tjong A Fie dilahirkan tahun 1860 di desa Sungkow daerah Moyan atau Meixien dan berasal dari suku Khe atau Hakka. Ia berasal dari keluarga sederhana, ayahnya yang sudah tua memiliki sebuah toko kelontong. Bersama kakaknya Tjong Yong Hian, Tjong A Fie harus meninggalkan bangku sekolah dan membantu mejaga toko ayahnya. Walaupun hanya mendapatkan pendidikan seadanya, tetapi Tjong A Fie ternyata cukup cerdas dan dalam waktu singkat dapat menguasai kiat-kiat dagang dan usaha keluarga yan dikelolanya mendapat kemajuan. Tapi, Tjong A Fie rupanya mempunyai suatu cita-cita lain, ia ingain mengadu nasib di perantauan untuk mencari kekayaan dan menjadi manusia terpandang. Tekad inilah yang mendorongnya meninggalkan kampusng halamannya dan pergi ke Hindia Belanda.

Tjong A fie

Dalam usia 18 tahun dengan berbekal 10 dolar perak uang Manchu yang diikatkan ke ikat pinggangnya, Tjong A Fie meninggalkan kampung halamannya, menyusul kakaknya Tjong Yong Hian, yang sudah lima tahun menetap di Sumatera. Pada tahun 1880, setelah berbulan-bulan berlakyar dengan Junk, ia tiba di Labuhan Deli. Tjong A Fie adalah seorang yang berwatak mandiri dan tidak mau menggantungkan diri pada orang lain terutama kepada kakaknya, Tjong Yong Hian yang telah menjadi Letnan dan telah berhasil memupuk kekayaan dan menjadi pimpinan orang Tionghoa yang dihormati. Ia kemudian bekerja serabutan di toko kelontong Tjong Sui Fo dari memegang buku, melayani langganan di toko, menagih utang dan tugas-tugas lainnya. Ia juga pandai bergaul, bukans aja dengan sesama orang Tionghoa, tetapi dengan orang Melayu, Arab, India, maupun orang Belanda. Ia juga belajar bercakap-cakap dengan bahasa Melayu yang menjadi bahasa pergaulan yang dipakai oleh berbagai macambangsa di tanah Deli.

The Tjong A Fie Memorial Institure

Open to Public: 18 June 2009 – 18 August 2009

Tjong A Fie tumbuh menjadi sosok yang tangguh, Peranan Tjong A Fie dalam Pembangunan di Sumatera menjauhi candu, perjudian, mabuk-mabukan dan pelacuran. Ia menjadi teladan dan menampilkan watak kepemimpinan yang sangat menonjol. Ia sering menjadi penengah jika terjadi perselisihan di antara orang Tionghoa atau dengan pihak lainnya. Di daerah perkebunan yang juga sering terjadi kerusuhan di kalangan buruh perusahan Belanda yang kadang-kadang menimbulkan kekacauan . Karena kemampuannya, Tjong A Fie kemudian diminta Belanda untuk membantu mengatasi berbagai permasalahan. Ia kemudian diangkat menjadi Letnan (liutenant) Tionghoa dan karena pekerjaannya tersebut ia pindah ke kota Medan. Karena prestasinya yang luar biasa, dalam waktu singkat pangkatnya dinaiikan menjadi Kapten (Kapiten).

The Entertaining Hall

Di tanah Deli, Tjong A Fie mempunya pergaulan yang luas dan terkenal sebagai pedagang yang luwes dan dermawan, Ia kemudian membina hubungan yang baik dengan Sultan Deli, Makmoen Al Rasjid Perkasa Alamsjah dan Tuanku Raja Moeda. Atas kesetiakawanan yang tinggi, maka Tjong A Fie berhasil mengjadi orang kepercayaan Sultan Deli dan mulai menangani beberapa urusan bisnis. Dengan demikian ia memperoleh reputasi yang baik dan terkenal di seluruh Deli. Ia terkenal baik di kalangan pedagang maupun orang Eropa, serta pejabat pemerintah setempat. Hubungan yang baik dengan Sultan Deli ini  menjadi awal sukses Tjong A Fie dalam dunia bisnis. Sultan memberinyakonsesi penyediaan atap daun nipah untuk keperluan perkebunan tembakau antara lain untuk pembuatan bangsal.

Tjong A Fie menjadi orang Tionghoa pertama yang memiliki perkebunan tembakau. Ia juga mengembangkan usahanya di bidang perkebunan teh di Bandar Baroe, di samping perkebunan teh si Boelan. Ia juga memiliki perkebunan kelapa yang sangat luas. Di Sumatera Barat ia menanamkan modalnya di bidang pertambangan di daerah Sawah Luntoh, Bukit Tinggi.

Bersama kakaknya Tjong Yong Hian, Tjong A Fie bekerjasama dengan Tio Tiaw Siat alias Chang Pi Shih, paman sekaligus konsul Tiongkok di Singapura mendirikan perusahaan kereta api The Chow-Chow & Swatow Railyway Co.Ltd. di daerah Tiongkok Selatan yang menghubungkan kedua kota tersebut. Untuk jasanya mereka sempat beraudiensi dengan ibu suri Tsu Hsi.

The various rooms

Ketika Tjong Yong Hian meninggal dunia tahun 1911, Tjong A Fie diangkat mengjadi penggantinya dan pangkatnya dinaikkan menjadi mayor. Sepanjang hidupnya ia banyak berbuat sosial dan senang menolong orang miskin. Tjong A Fie adalah tokoh pembangunan di Sumatera Utara. Sepanjang hidupnya selama di Medan telah banyak menyumbangkan hartanya untuk kepentingan sosial dengan membangun sarana-sarana untuk kepentingan umum dan menolong orang miskin tanpa membedakan warna kulit, suku dan agama dan golongan bangsa seperti yang tersurat dalam wasiatnya.

Kedermawanan dan kepedulian sosial yang masih terlihat hingga saat ini adalah Titi Berlian (jembatan di kampong Madras) yang dibangun untuk menghormati abangnya Tjong Yong Hian sekaligus untuk kepentingan masyarakat luas. Tjong A Fie juga membangun klenteng, masing-masing di Jl.Kling (dulunya di Klingenstraat)dan Pulo Brayan. Ia juga menyediakan tempat pemakaman di Pulo Brayan dan mendirikan perkumpulan kematian yang bertugas untuk merawat pasien berpenyakit lepra di Pulau Sicanang. Rasa Hormatnya kepad aSultan Deli, Makmoen Al Rasjid dan penduduk Islam Medan, diwujudkan dengan mendirikan Mesjid Raya Medan dengan menyumbang sepertiga dari seluruh biaya pembangunannya.

Tjong A Fie juga membiayai seluruh biaya pembangunan mesjid Gang Bengkok di dekat tempat kediamannya di Jalan Kesawan, Di kota Medan bahkan di seluruh Sumatera Timur Tjong A Fie sangat terkenal karena kedermawanannya. Banyak sekolah yang mendapat bantuannya. Baik sekolah Kristen, Islam maupun sekolah Tionghoa. Ia juga menyediakan tanah untuk pembangunan sekolah Methodist di Medan. Tjong A Fie bukan hanya memberi sumbangan pada berbagai klenteng, mesjid dan gereja, tetapi juga kuil-kuil HIndu tempat beribadah orang-orang India. Di Jembatan Berlian juga terdapat prasasti yang mencantumkan nama Tjong A Fie sebagai penyumbangnya, demikian juga jam besar di puncak gedung Balai Kota yang lama adalah sumbangannya. Di Klengteng Kek Lok Si di Ayer Itam, Penang sampai sekarang masih berdiri patung Tjong A Fie. Demikian terkenalnya Tjong A Fie sebagai dermawan, sehingga untuk beberapa waktu lamanya di kota Medan dan Tebing Tinggi ada satu jalan identik dengan namanya.

Sebagai pemimpin masyarakat Tionghoa, Tjong A Fie sangat dihormati dan disegani, karena ia pandai memadukan kekuatan ekonomi dan kekuatan politik. Kerajaan bisnisnya meliputi perkebunan, pabrik minyak sawit, pabrik gula, bank dan perusahaan kereta api. Pada masa sebelum ia  meninggal dunia, lebih dari 10.000 orang yang bekerja di berbagai perusahaannya. Dengan rekomendasi Sultan Deli, Tjong A Fie menjadi anggota gemeenteraad (dewan kota) dan cultuurraad (dewan kebudayaan). Ia juga lalu diangkat sebagai penasehat pemerintah Hindia Belanda untuk urusan Tiongkok.

Ketika masih di kampungnya di daratan Tiongkok, Tjong A Fie telah menikah dengan Nona Lee. Kemudian, ketika di Labuhan Deli ia menikah dengan Nona Chew dari Penang dan mempunyai tiga orang anak: Tjong Kong Liong, Tjong Song-Jin dan Tjong Kwei-Jin. Istri keduanya ini kemudian meninggal dunia. Untuk ketiga kalinya ia menikah dengan Lim Koei Yap yang lahir tahun 1880 di daerah Timbang Langkat, Binjai. Mertuanya ini adalah kepala mandor perkebunan tembakau di Sungai Mencirim yang mengepalai ratusan orang kuli kontrak . Dari Lim Koei Yap ia memperoleh tujuh orang anak: Tjong Foek-Yin (Queeny), Tjong Fa-Liong, Tjong Khian-Liong, Tjong Kaet Liong (Munchung), Tjong Lie Liong (Kocik), Tjong See Yin (Noni) dan Tjong Tsoeng-Liong (Adek).

The Bedroom

Pada 4 Februari 1921, Tjong A Fie meninggal dunia karena apopleksia atau pendarahan otak, di kediamannya di Jalan Kesawan, Medan. Seluruh kota Medan gempar dan turut berkabung, ribuan orang pelayat datang berduyun-duyun bukan saja dari kota Medan, tetapi dari berbagai kota di Sumatera Timur, Aceh, Padang, Penang, Malaysia, Singapura dan Pulau Jawa. Upacara pemakamannya berlangsung dengan megah dan penuh kebesaran sesuai dengan tradisi dan kedudukannya pada masa itu. Karena kedermawanannya, tanpa membeda-bedakan bangsa, ras, agama dan asal-usul, Tjong A Fie telah menjadi legenda dan namanya dikenang oleh penduduk kota Medan dan sekitarnya.

Empat bulan sebelum meninggal dunia, Tjong A Fie telah  membuat surat wasiat di hadapan notaris Dirk Johan Facquin den Grave. Isinya adalah mewariskan seluruh kekayaannya di Sumatera maupun di luar  Sumatera kepada Yayasan Toen Moek Tong yang harus didirikan di Medan dan Sungkow pada saat ia meninggal dunia. Yayasan yang berkedudukan di Medan diminta untuk melakukan limahal. Tiga diantaranya untuk memberikan bantuan keuangan kepada kaum muda yang berbakat dan berkelakuan baik serta ingin menyelesaikan pendidikannya, tanpa membedakan kebangsaan. Yayasan ini juga harus membantu mereka yang tidak memapu bekerja dengan baik karena cacat tubuh, buta, atau menderita penyakit berat. Juga yayasan diharapkan membantu para korban bencana alam tanpa memandang kebangsaan atau etnisnya.

The Tjong A Fie Memorial Institure
Jl. Jend A. Yani No. 105 Medan
North Sumatera – Indonesia

Open to Public: 18 June 2009 – 18 August 2009

Tel: 081 3960 29769

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The Online World Unite to Fight Against Terrorism

Since the terrorist attacks with suicide bombings to 2 luxury hotels JW Marriott and Ritz Carlton Hotels in Jakarta, the online community has united to show their support to fight against terrorism especially Indonesians.

By using Twitter, everyone has united by twittering the word #indonesiaunite with their comments to pass on their support with their personal messages.

As you can see from the image below, #indonesiaunite has become the TOP TRENDING TOPICS in Twitter. At the time of this post, it is the No.1 Trending Topics in Twitter surpassing popular international tweets like James Bond, Michael Jackson etc. Within 2 minutes of searching, over 2026 new tweets has been published by supporters and the tweets continue to increase. That’s over 1000 tweets per minute!

Here is the list of top trending topics in Twitter at the time of this post:

1. #indonesiaunite
2. James Brond
3. Spongebob
4. Goodnight
5. #keeppaula
6. #yeg
7. Michael Jackson
8. AT&T Is A Big
9. #iranelection
10. Bruno

Supporters changed their avatar to include Indonesian flag, like ours below:

There are currently 2 ways to change your avatar automatically, we got ours from twcauses, the other one is from Twibbon which already shows over 10,296 supporters at the time of this post.

Supporters, published their feelings and messages such as:

• time for us to shed our egos and vanities, and push Indonesia into a better future #indonesiaunite
• KAMI TIDAK TAKUT. We Are Not Afraid. #indonesiaunite
• “WE ARE NOT AFRAID! THEY ONLY MAKE US STRONGER!” #indonesiaunite
• Get Up, Stand Up! Stand up for ur right! Don’t give up the fight! #indonesiaunite
• Make love, not bombs #indonesiaunite
• Indonesian Twitter movement: Indonesia Unite #indonesiaunite
• jgn takutttt ayooo ke jakarta aja! RECOVER INDONESIA #indonesiaunite
• i always love my country . Indonesia . Bangga Jadi Anak Indonesia ! #indonesiaunite
• ONE NATION…. ONE PRIDE…. INDONESIA..!!! #indonesiaunite

Some promote Indonesia with the tweets like:

• 10 Things I Love about Indonesia …… #indonesiaunite

• and many more…. see #indonesiaunite and follow us about Medan Happenings on Twitter @Medan Twitter

So, if you are on twitter, join the Indonesian Twitter movement: Indonesia Unite!

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• Explosion JW Marriott Ritz Carlton Jakarta
• Renew and Recharge at Medan’s finest…
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Thank YOU

We would like to take this opportunity to thank our Visitors, Readers and Subscribers to MedanKu.com

In March 2009, we have over 46,051 visitors to MedanKu.com, 31,698, NEW unique visitors, 14,353 returning visitors, and 273,841 page views a month, and growing…”

Our visitors come from all over the world, the image below are the top 25 countries where our visitors come from including our beloved country Indonesia – domestic travelers

According to the Professional Email Service we use, we have 4,180 subscribers from 778 cities around the globe (31 March 2009) and GROWING daily! This is a good sign and a motivation for us to continue to provide you with the latest news, updates and guides to the city of Medan North Sumatra Indonesia.

image: 4180 subscribers to MedanKu.com weekly email newsletter as of 31 March 2009

image: MedanKu.com international subscribers from 778 cities as seen in GEOmap report powered by Google Maps

Thank you for your continual visits and support of our website. Feel free to forward our emails and website to your friends and families. You may use our online invite form here.

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The Beauty of Medan Portrait

The art of photography capturing the beauty of Medan through the eys of the photographer in these 2 very well take photos of Mesjid Raya, the Grand Mosque of Medan which has somehow become one of the icon of Medan.

photo by Manolinlao

photo by Cak Noor

For more pictures of Medan see the menu above under Medan Pictures

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