In a country that is a republic, HH Hamengku Buwono X retains his title of Sultan of Yogyakarta and is also the elected governor of the Special Region of Yogyakarta. He is highly respected by his people and admired for his efforts in promoting the region as a centre for business, education and culture.

On 27 May this year, HH Hamengku Buwono X’s focus changed when an earthquake killed some 6,000 people and left more than 600,000 homeless. “My first concern is the housing sector,” the Sultan explains. “The central government has the obligation to help rebuild houses destroyed by the earthquake. That is now happening, but it is taking time. According to a statement from Jakarta, they are looking at some 206,000 houses. They say funds for this will gradually be taken from the National Budget 2006-07. The first phase will use about 20 per cent, which means only enough money to rebuild
40,000 homes.

“We are not only talking about contracting, but how we should design a working plan for people to form a cooperative group to rebuild their own homes. We will provide assistance in designing an earthquake-proof house, but we will leave the style to them. But that will not be enough of course so, as a priority, we are trying to provide a base, column structure and roof that are quake-proof. The walls can be added in later, or even plastic could be used for the time being,” he says