The History of the Welcome Statue to the Hotel Indonesia Roundabout

Welcome Monument

The Welcome Monument is a monument located in the middle of the Hotel Indonesia Roundabout, Central Jakarta, Indonesia. This monument is a statue of a pair of humans holding flowers and waving their hands. The statue faces north which means they welcome people coming from the direction of the National Monument.

Manufacturing History

In 1962, Jakarta welcomed state guests at the Hotel Indonesia Roundabout. At that time, President Soekarno built the Welcome Monument in the context of the IV Asian Games which were held in Jakarta. The athletes and officials stayed at the Hotel Indonesia and competed at the Ikada sports complex, now the Gelora Bung Karno complex, Senayan. Senayan Stadium at that time was the largest stadium in Southeast Asia which could accommodate 120,000 spectators.

Henk Ngantung

The idea for making this statue came from President Soekarno and the initial design was done by Henk Ngantung who at that time was the Deputy Governor of DKI Jakarta. The height of this bronze statue from head to foot is 5 m, while the total height from the feet to the waving arms is +-7 m, and the height of the statue's feet is 10 m. The executor for making this statue was a team of sculptors from the Arca Family led by Edhi Sunarso in Karangwuni. At the time of its creation, President Sukarno was accompanied by the United States Ambassador, Howard P. Jones and the ministers visited the Edhi Sunarso studio. Making this statue takes about a year. The Selamat Datang Monument was then inaugurated by Sukarno in 1962.

The Selamat Datang Monument is located in the center of the Hotel Indonesia roundabout or HI roundabout. So named because of its location close to the Hotel Indonesia. Another accepted spelling is Bunderan HI, which is a language closer to Javanese-Betawi, a dialect closer to Jakarta's identity. This roundabout is located in the middle of the M.H. Thamrin with Jalan Imam Bonjol, Jalan Sutan Syahrir, and Jalan Kebon Kacang. In 2002, the Hotel Indonesia Roundabout was restored by PT Jaya Construction Manggala Pratama with the addition of a new fountain, new pool design, and lighting. After the reform era, the HI roundabout became a popular place for demonstrations. Every Sunday morning, when the Jakarta Car Free Day is held, this roundabout is filled with people exercising, cycling, and street vendors.