The Indonesian community in Hong Kong is seeking to build a community center to serve as a hub to one of the region’s biggest ethnic minorities.       

Addy Kurnia Komara, director and project coordinator of the non-profit Indonesian Muslim Association in Hong Kong (IMAH), said the group had submitted an application to the Lands Department to use the site of the former Wesley Hostel in Happy Valley, Wan Chai for the proposed center. He said the IMAH and other volunteers plan to renovate the dilapidated buildings to create a safe and welcoming space for the more than 170,000 Indonesians living in Hong Kong.

“This is an opportunity for us to have a place for gathering together,” Komara told China Daily on March 9. The same day, Komara gave a presentation and update on the proposed center to IMAH members at the organization’s headquarters in Lai Chi Kok. 

The IMAH envisions that the center will have a community hall for events, gatherings, and celebrations; a kitchen for cooking classes, food festivals, and community meals; a library with a collection of Indonesian books, magazines, and newspapers; a computer lab for digital skills training; a prayer room; a room for arts and crafts; a playground; a community garden; and a health clinic.

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Komara said these facilities will be a big help to the thousands of female domestic workers who comprise the majority of the Indonesian community. He said the community center will serve as a place where they can attend classes to upgrade their skills, empowering them to pursue other career paths.

The site of the proposed center is also near the Indonesian consulate and Victoria Park, where many Indonesians gather during weekends.    

The IMAH sent an application to the Lands Department in August 2024, seeking to rent the property on a short-term tenancy (STT) scheme by way of direct grant. The department responded to the IMAH’s application on Jan 22, to say that the application had been circulated to various government bureaus for comment. A local consultation in Wan Chai also received one objection to the proposed STT.       

STTs cover sites on unleased and unallocated government land with possible potential for temporary uses, if there are no relevant competing demands from government offices. The Lands Department grants STTs either through tender or a direct grant.

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Luisa Nadia Tan Castro, founder and CEO of the Institute of Leadership and Management Foundation (ILM Foundation), said having their own community centers is empowering for ethnic minorities in Hong Kong.

Ethnic minorities account for 8.4 percent of Hong Kong's population, according to the city's 2021 population census.

Castro, a Filipina and long-time resident of Hong Kong, is one of the volunteers helping the IMAH to develop the community center. She said the ILM Foundation’s goal is to empower ethnic minorities and noted how Indonesians, especially domestic workers, need such a center if only to continue their studies, as most of them did not get a chance to go to university.

“So, one of the things they really need is a place where they can go to and learn. There's no social mobility for them if they don't have further education,” said Castro.

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“First you need to have the capacity and then you can help your community,” she added.

Komara said the center will also serve as an Indonesian cultural space where anyone can come if they want to know more about Indonesia. For example, he said the center will host cooking classes and workshops on batik, a dyeing technique that uses hot wax.

Once the Lands Department approves the IMAH’s request, Komara said it would take them at least a year to renovate the chosen site and make the community center operational. He said the IMAH is eyeing several sources to raise funds. These include corporate sponsorships and applying to the Development Bureau for a funding scheme to support the use of vacant government sites by non-government organizations.