Pabrik Pertama di Batam, Didirikan oleh Raja Ali Kelana Tahun 1896
Disbudpar Batam- Dinas Kebudayaan dan Pariwisata (Disbudpar) Kota Batam menelusuri cerobong asap pabrik batu bata Batam Brick Works yang berlokasi di Tanjung Uncang, depan PT Viking Engineering Kecamatan Batu Aji, Selasa (9/3/2021). Pabrik batu bata pertama di Batam ini didirikan oleh Raja Ali Kelana bersama seorang pengusaha kaya dari Singapura bernama Ong Sam Leong, sekitar tahun 1896 silam.
Kepala Bidang (Kabid) Kebudayaan Disbudpar Kota Batam, Muhammad Zen mengatakan, kegiatan tersebut merupakan survei awal Disbudpar terkait rencana pemindahan cerobong asap pabrik batu bata Batam Brick Works menjadi salah satu koleksi Musuem Batam Raja Ali Haji. Ia menyebutkan cerobong asap ini memiliki ukuran tinggi 3,5 meter, lebar 170 centi meter, diameter cerobong asap 65 centi meter, dan tebal bangunan 52 centi meter.
“Hari ini kami melihat sekaligus mengukur cerobong asap pabrik batu bata Batam Brick Works. Rencananya cerobong tersebut akan dijadikan koleksi Museum Batam Raja Ali Haji,” katanya.
Zen menyampaikan cerobong asap tersebut merupakan satu-satunya bangunan pabrik yang tersisa. Dengan menjadi koleksi museum, pengunjung akan mengetahui salah satu cagar budaya yakni Batam Brick Works.
“Kegiatan ini merupakan kegiatan rutin Disbudpar dalam upaya mencari dan mengembangkan Musuem Batam Raja Ali Haji,” ujarnya.
Sebagai informasi, bangunan cerobong ini bersusun batu bata Batam Brick Works. Selain itu Bangunan lainnya yang juga menggunakan batu bata Batam Brick Works adalah perigi tua atau sumur berdiamter 1,6 meter yang berada di Pulau Buluh, dan Komplek Makam Temenggung Abdul Jamal di Kecamatan Bulang. Batu bata ini memiliki merek dagang BATAM yang ditulis dengan huruf kapital di bagian atas atau sampingnya. Di tangan Raja Ali Kelana Batam Brick Works bersinar dan mampu memproduksi 30.000 batu bata yang keras (hard burnt brick) per hari.
Kepala Disbudpar Kota Batam, Ardiwinata menyampaikan survei dan rencana memindahkan cerobong asap pabrik batu bata Batam Brick Works ke Musuem Batam Raja Ali Haji sebagai upaya Pemerintah Kota (Pemko) Batam untuk melindungi salah satu cagar budaya di Kota Batam.
“Kita akan terus menambah koleksi Museum Batam Raja Ali Haji,” terangnya.
Museum Raja Ali Haji sudah didaftarkan ke Kementerian Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan (Kemendikbud) bersama 475 museum lainnya di Indonesia. Isi dari museum ini menampilkan sejarah peradaban Batam mulai dari Batam sejak zaman Kerajaan Riau Lingga, Belanda, Temenggung Abdul Jamal, Jepang, masa Kemerdekaan Indonesia, Pemerintah Kabupaten Kepri, Otorita Pertama, era BJ Habibie, Kota Administratif, masuk Sejarah Astaka, Khazanah Melayu, dan infrastruktur atau era Batam sekarang.
Exploring the Batam Brick Works Factory Chimney
The First Factory in Batam, Founded by Raja Ali Kelana in 1896
Culture and Tourism Department of Batam City- The Batam City Culture and Tourism Department traces the chimney of the Batam Brick Works brick factory located in Tanjung Uncang, in front of PT Viking Engineering, Batu Aji District, Tuesday (9/3/2021). The first brick factory in Batam was founded by Raja Ali Kelana with a wealthy businessman from Singapore named Ong Sam Leong, about 1896 ago.
The Culture Head Devision of Batam City Culture and Tourism Department, Muhammad Zen said the activity was an initial survey of the Culture and Tourism Department regarding the plan to move the chimney of the Batam Brick Works brick factory into one of the collections of the Batam Raja Ali Haji Musuem. He said that this chimney has a height of 3.5 meters, a width of 170 centimeters, a chimney diameter of 65 centimeters, and a building thickness of 52 centimeters.
“Today we saw and measured the chimney of Batam Brick Works brick factory. The plan is that the chimney will be used as a collection of the Batam Raja Ali Haji Museum,” he said.
Zen said the chimney is the only remaining factory building. By becoming a museum collection, visitors will find out about one of the cultural heritages, which is the Batam Brick Works.
“This activity is a routine activity of the Batam City Culture and Tourism Department in an effort to find and develop the Batam Raja Ali Haji Musuem,” he said.
For information, this chimney building is composed of Batam Brick Works bricks. In addition, other buildings that also use Batam Brick Works are old wells or wells with a diameter of 1.6 meters located on Buluh Island, and the Temenggung Abdul Jamal Tomb Complex in Bulang District. This brick has the BATAM trademark which is written in capital letters on the top or side. In the hands of Raja Ali Kelana, Batam Brick Works shines and is capable of producing 30,000 hard burnt bricks per day.
The Head of Batam City Culture and Tourism Department, Ardiwinata conveyed the survey and plans to move the chimney of the Batam Brick Works brick factory to the Batam Raja Ali Haji Musuem as an effort of the Batam City Government to protect one of the cultural heritages in Batam City.
Raja Ali Haji Museum has been registered with the Ministry of Education and Culture along with 475 other museums in Indonesia. The contents of this museum display the history of Batam civilization starting from Batam since the days of the Riau Lingga Kingdom, the Netherlands, Temenggung Abdul Jamal, Japan, the Indonesian Independence period, the Riau Islands Regency Government, the First Authority, the BJ Habibie era, Administrative City, into Astaka History, Khazanah Melayu, and infrastructure or the present Batam era.
