Minister kicks off public discussion on Indonesia's controversial new history books
JAKARTA – Culture Minister Fadli Zon has reassured the public that the forthcoming history books 'are not hiding anything' as he launched a public campaign on the project despite concerns past human rights abuses may be whitewashed.
Fadli held the first round of discussion on Friday at the University of Indonesia's (UI) main campus in Depok, West Java, and said in his remarks there that the new history books were aimed at taking an 'Indonesia-centric' perspective in updating the country's history.
'This forum is a kickoff for public discussions to show that we are not hiding anything in our history. We can debate it, but we cannot simply leave our history unwritten,' he said in the livestream event.
Deflecting concerns of being a rushed project, the minister said the ongoing efforts to rewrite the country's history is '26 years too late'. He noted that the last state-sanctioned revision took place at the start of the Reform era in 1999.
The upcoming 10-volume publication will include everything from the latest archaeological findings on early civilizations in the archipelago up to the end of former president Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo's second term in October of last year.
The project involves 112 historians from 34 state universities across Indonesia, whom Fadli described as the 'maestros' of their respective fields.
'History cannot be written carelessly. If it is written by an activist, the result will be different. If it is written by a politician, it will also reflect differing political interests. That is why history must be written by qualified historians,' he said.
The project has come under fire from activists and independent historians, who fear that the government might be looking to take a revisionist approach by emphasizing only positive legacies of past presidents, including Soeharto, whose authoritarian rule was marked by widespread human rights abuses and systemic corruption.
Fadli has also come under heavy criticism for his repeated dismissal of the mass rapes that took place during the May 1998 riots.
While Fadli did not provide a specific publication timeline, he said he hoped the books would serve as a 'gift' for the nation's 80th Independence Day on Aug. 17.
Restu Gunawan, director general for the protection of culture and tradition at the Culture Ministry, said that, in addition to the event at UI, three more discussions are set to follow in the coming weeks in Lambung Mangkurat University in South Kalimantan, followed by Padang State University in West Sumatra and at Makassar State University in South Sulawesi.
'The books are currently in the editing stage by the volume editors. Hopefully, public input from these forums can help fill in any remaining gaps before it moves on to the general editor for final refinement,' Restu said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Times
5 hours ago
- Business Times
Tariff heat sees Europe heighten focus on Vietnam and Indonesia
[HO CHI MINH CITY / JAKARTA] Europe's engagement with South-east Asia is ramping up, from the recent 150 million euro (S$224.5 million) investment in a new Vietnam engineering hub by German software giant SAP to the UK's removal of barriers for pharmaceutical exports to Vietnam and the European Union's landmark trade deal with Indonesia. The push is being fuelled by geopolitical tensions and US President Donald Trump's Aug 7 tariff package – a flat rate of 15 per cent on most EU imports, in addition to existing steep duties on EU steel and vehicles – which has made selling to the US market costlier and less predictable for European exporters. Ian Betts, chair of the British Chamber of Commerce in Indonesia, said that South-east Asian markets such as Indonesia and Vietnam are now viewed as a 'strategic hedge' against over-reliance on traditional Western markets as they offer dynamic consumer bases, expanding middle classes and improving regulatory frameworks. Stephen Olson, former US trade negotiator and visiting senior fellow at Iseas-Yusof Ishak Institute echoed the sentiment: 'The EU is clearly attempting to diversify its trade relations away from the US, and Asean is a key focal point.' Recent developments, including the breakthrough Indonesia-EU Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (Cepa) and sector-specific pacts such as the UK-Vietnam pharmaceutical deal, underscore this structural shift. The pivot is evident from recent Allianz Trade surveys before and after the US' 'Liberation Day' tariffs on Apr 2, which found that European export interest towards South and South-east Asia doubled from 7 per cent to 14 per cent as trade links between the regions are intensifying with more free-trade agreements (FTAs). A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU Friday, 8.30 am Asean Business Business insights centering on South-east Asia's fast-growing economies. Sign Up Sign Up The shifting sentiments were more evident when it came to supply-chain exposures. 'The trade war is creating opportunistic friendshoring (with) the Europe-Asia rapprochement,' Allianz analysts wrote. They pointed out that the Asia-Pacific has now become the preferred relocation destination for German companies with current links to North American supply chains – with 43 per cent opting for this, rising sharply from 28 per cent. 'We see a lot of manufacturing and industrial companies leveraging Vietnam as an expansion, and it creates opportunities for wider exchange (between Vietnam and Europe),' said Thomas Saueressig, member of the executive board of SAP, during a press briefing on Aug 7 to launch its new SAP Labs in Ho Chi Minh City. The German enterprise software giant plans to invest more than 150 million euros over the next five years to strengthen its engineering hub in Vietnam, the second in South-east Asia following the one established in Singapore in 2022. '(How we try to boost SAP Labs here) is also a great next signal for more and further increased collaborations and partnerships across industries from Germany, Europe, to South-east Asia, specifically in Vietnam,' he added. Europe is not stopping at Indonesia or Vietnam. The Philippines embarked on a fresh round of FTA talks with the EU in June, with the next one scheduled in October. Negotiations with Malaysia and Thailand are also ongoing, and are at various stages. 'Once (the Indonesia-EU Cepa) is signed, I believe it opens the way for further conclusions and negotiations with other Asean member states,' said Edison Bako, executive director at the European Business Chamber of Commerce (EuroCham) in Indonesia. One of the key challenges for these countries, according to Olson, will be navigating differing perspectives on values-driven social issues and climate change – areas that the EU increasingly intertwines with its trade policies. Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto meeting European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Brussels on Jul 13. PHOTO: INDONESIA PRESIDENTIAL SECRETARIAT Indonesia-EU Cepa: Catalyst for broader engagement Politically concluded on Jul 14, 2025, the Indonesia-EU Cepa is set for legal finalisation by September and is poised to serve as a template for Europe's wider strategy in Asean. Under the Cepa, approximately 80 per cent of Indonesia's exports to the EU – including textiles, footwear, fisheries, palm oil and electric vehicle (EV)-related components – will benefit from immediate or gradual tariff elimination, boosting export competitiveness and improving market access. In return, EU companies will gain wider access to Indonesia's rapidly growing market of 280 million consumers, with key export opportunities in meat, dairy products and green technologies. Trade between the two sides is projected to grow by 50 per cent or more in the coming years under the new framework. '(The deal) would also open the floodgates in terms of the prospects for environmental sustainability and governance standards here in Asean,' added Bako. Europe has emerged as one of the top seven sources of foreign investment in Indonesia, with inflows reaching US$4.59 billion in 2024, up 52 per cent from US$3.02 billion in the previous year, driven by growing interest in the EV, healthcare and resource sectors. 'The ongoing uncertainty in EU-US trade relations is prompting many to look more seriously at Asean,' said Fabian Kieble, chairman of EuroCham in Indonesia. 'Indonesia's EV battery and mining sectors are key areas of interest. The country's push for EVs aligns well with European expertise,' he added. Vietnam-UK sectoral strategy Vietnam has been playing a key role in Europe's Asia strategy, with the UK-Vietnam pharmaceutical agreement – confirmed on the same day as the announcement of the Cepa between the EU and Indonesia – symbolising deeper engagement. 'We expect the diversification of trade partners this agreement provides to enhance the UK's resilience against global trade uncertainties while creating new growth opportunities in emerging markets across Asia,' Rachel Finlay, healthcare analyst at BMI, a unit of Fitch Solutions, wrote in a note last month. The deal removes non-tariff barriers for UK pharmaceutical exports and reinforces the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency's standards as an internationally recognised benchmark – a move that could ripple through other Asean markets. Sakshi Sikka, associate director of pharmaceuticals at BMI, added: 'This agreement also strengthens Vietnam's broader trade relationship with the UK, which could lead to expanded cooperation in other sectors such as finance and clean energy.' Clarence Hoe, executive director of Americas and Europe at Enterprise Singapore, also observed increased interest from European companies to participate in renewable energy infrastructure projects in South-east Asian markets due to the latter's vast potential and commitment to net-zero targets, as well as pro-energy transition policies. Pha Lai thermal power plant in Hai Duong province, Vietnam. The UK and EU are the co-leads of the International Partners Group, which has been working with Hanoi to implement Vietnam's Just Energy Transition Partnership since December 2022. PHOTO: AFP Singapore: Asean's entry point for European firms While emerging South-east Asian economies present huge growth potential, Singapore remains Europe's launch pad into the region, with more than 19,000 European companies operating in the city-state. Recent manufacturing investments by Sanofi, Biotronik, Siltronic and NTS in Singapore highlight the 'queen bee' effect – where global firms cluster their suppliers and partners around the South-east Asian region, said Dino Tan, senior vice-president and head of Europe at Singapore Economic Development Board. Following the Europe-Singapore Digital Trade Agreement, which was finalised last year, London-headquartered fintech Wise expanded its Asia-Pacific hub in Singapore in April to better serve markets in the region. Norwegian gamified learning platform Kahoot launched its Asia-Pacific hub in the Republic in July, using Singapore as a gateway for its regional growth. 'Singapore is deepening regional economic integration within South-east Asia, which will make it easier for companies to do business in our region,' Tan noted. He highlighted initiatives such as the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone, announced earlier this year, as a strategic location that enables European companies to leverage the combined strengths of both Malaysia and Singapore to diversify their supply chains and continue scaling. Additional reporting by Goh Ruoxue in Singapore
CNA
2 days ago
- CNA
What's the flap in Indonesia over pirate protest flag against Prabowo government?
JAKARTA: With a heavy heart, graduate student Aditya recently took down from the walls of his dormitory room one of his most prized possessions: A pirate flag from the popular anime series One Piece he bought a few years back. 'I don't want some passerby seeing the flag in my room and getting the wrong idea,' the 31-year-old anime fan, who lives in the Indonesian city of Bandung and asked not to divulge his full name, told CNA. The flag is precious to him because, he said, it was bought from an official One Piece store in Japan and not some unofficial copy made in Indonesia or China. The black flag, with its straw hat-wearing skull, has been at the heart of a fierce debate in Indonesia ever since it began popping up in late July, raised on busy streets and lonely country roads or tied to the side of moving trucks and stationary walls. In the Japanese anime series, the Jolly Roger flag is carried by a band of pirates bent on bringing down a draconian regime. Which is why for many Indonesians, the flag has come to symbolise discontent towards economic uncertainties and President Prabowo Subianto's government which has been criticised for a series of controversial policies and programmes ever since taking office in October last year. These include the government's budget cuts, setting up of sovereign wealth fund Danantara, and moves to give the military a bigger role, such as appointing uniformed personnel to civilian posts. The Jolly Roger phenomenon occurred right around the time when Indonesians are preparing to celebrate the country's 80th Independence Day on Aug 17, which is traditionally marked by the raising of the country's Red and White flag and other decorations of the same colours. While many defended the raising of the fictional pirate banner as a form of self expression and right to criticise those in power, the authorities have reacted, with various ministers and law enforcement leaders threatening to crack down on it. Deputy Speaker of the Indonesian House of Representatives, Sufmi Dasco Ahmad, on Jul 31 described the movement as "a coordinated attempt to divide the nation", while Minister of Human Rights Natalius Pigai called on Aug 3 for a ban on the Jolly Roger flag to 'protect national symbols'. Meanwhile, Indonesian Coordinating Minister for Politics and Security Budi Gunawan warned on Aug 2 that there are 'legal consequences for dishonouring the Red and White' and asked Indonesians to refrain from displaying 'symbols which are not relevant to the nation's struggle' ahead of Independence Day. Budi's remarks were echoed by authorities across the country. In Jakarta's neighbouring province of Banten, a deputy police chief warned on Aug 2 that the raising of the fictional flag will be met with 'strict actions'. On the same day in West Java, a police spokesman said they are keeping tabs of where these flags are raised and by whom so that they can press charges 'the moment an instruction (to do so) is given'. Similarly, a police spokesman in Jakarta said on Aug 4 that they are "monitoring the use of non-national flags and symbols that don't align with the spirit of nationalism, including pirate or fictional-themed flags". These threats were enough to instill fear in the hearts of anime fans like Aditya. 'Every One Piece fan I know is nervous about having a Jolly Roger flag in their collection. (Owning it) was never political. We just love the anime,' he said, hoping that the One Piece flag furore will die out soon. SELF EXPRESSION OR DISRESPECT? After days of controversy, state secretary minister Prasetyo Hadi said Prabowo had weighed in on the problem and saw no need to ban the banner. '(Raising the flag) as a form of expression is okay, no problem. However, it should not be used to challenge or diminish the significance of the red and white flag. The two should not be placed side by side in a way that invites comparison or conflict," Prasetyo said on Tuesday (Aug 5), as quoted by Antara news agency. The minister said Prabowo also promised there will not be any raid against those raising the flag, as long as they subscribe to the national law which stipulates that the country's flag must always be bigger and hoisted higher if flown alongside other banners and symbols. Feri Amsari, a legal expert from West Sumatra's Andalas University, said he agrees with Prabowo's enlightened approach. 'The government must not overreact in handling the matter. It is just a flag from a fictional world. There is no need to see this as an insult against the state or the national flag,' he told CNA. Abdul Fickar Hadjar, a criminal law expert from Jakarta's Trisakti University, supported Prabowo's stance. 'There is no law which bans the hoisting of a fictional-themed flag. Every citizen has the right to fly any flag, banner or symbol unless there is a law or a court ruling against said symbols,' the lecturer told CNA. Throughout its history, Indonesia has banned flags used by rebel groups and terrorist organisations as well as symbols of communism. But Prabowo's instructions might have fallen on deaf ears in some quarters. A day after Prasetyo's remarks, a man in Tegal, Central Java told Detik news portal that several government officials came to his shop after he hoisted the Red and White along with a Palestinian flag and the anime pirate flag in one flag pole. The officials, the shopkeeper said, told him to take out only the One Piece flag. The same news portal also reported that on Aug 7, several youths in Sleman, Yogyakarta were told by local government, police and military officials to erase two Jolly Roger murals they had made. Meanwhile, a police chief in the Central Sulawesi district of Parigi Moutong instructed his men to raid markets in search of vendors selling One Piece flags. 'We will compensate them for their losses,' Parigi Moutong police chief Hendrawan Agustian Nugraha said on Aug 6, as quoted by Central Sulawesi-based news portal Al Khairaat. The police, he added, will give money as well as a national flag for every One Piece flag they take out of circulation. 'But if people are caught raising (the pirate flag), that is prohibited and we will take actions,' he said. Usman Hamid, the Indonesian director of rights group Amnesty International, is calling for the government to stop these tactics. 'The raids, the confiscations of flags and the erasures of murals are robbing people of their freedom of expression, intimidating and creating fear among society. The government cannot be anti-criticisms,' he said. A COUNTRY DIVIDED The threat of criminal prosecution and perceived heavy handed tactics by some government officials and law enforcers appear to have had the opposite effect: People becoming curious and sympathising with those looking to raise the pirate flag. In the days since the controversy broke, several vendors reported a spike in demand for One Piece flags. An online merchant, Rido, told Kompas news portal on Sunday that he had shipped around 2,000 pieces of Jolly Roger flags to various customers across Indonesia since officials began mulling on a ban in late July. 'I have exhausted one year's worth of stock in just a few days,' he said. Meanwhile, Imam, a street vendor who sells flags and other Independent Day decorations, said he was confused at first why numerous people went up to him looking for an anime flag. 'They weren't interested in my Red and White flags. They were looking for One Piece flags,' the 40-year-old told CNA. 'I told them I didn't have one. I didn't even know what this flag looks like because I never watched the show.' After more and more people kept asking Imam the same thing, the vendor decided to ask his teenage son who watches the show. 'I asked (my son): 'what does this One Piece flag look like' and 'do you think we should start selling them?' and I was shocked when he told me 'Dad… don't! Don't you read the news? People are getting into a lot of trouble for selling these things,' the vendor said. Meanwhile, social media feeds have been flooded with the crossbones and skull with a straw hat iconography, not just from die-hard fans of the anime series, but also from those who had never even watched the show. For some, it was a form of protest while for others, a way to troll authority or join in on a trending topic. 'I don't even like anime,' said Dinda, a 31-year-old banker, who had changed her Instagram profile picture to the pirate flag. 'But the way the government reacted? It made me want to post it even more. It's just a flag. Chill.' But not everyone thinks it is appropriate to celebrate Indonesia's 80th Independence Day with a fictional pirate flag. 'I fought for that red and white (flag),' Sutomo, a 72-year-old war veteran told CNA. He is a former soldier who fought in the Indonesian annexation of the then East Timor in the 1970s. 'No matter how disappointed you are with this country, there are things so sacred you don't swap them with anything else, certainly not with something out of a cartoon show.' But legal experts argued that banning the flag and criminalising those who raise it is counter productive. This 'only alienates young people further and makes it harder to foster national unity' - the very thing the government says it is trying to do, law expert Feri said. , he added. 'All Prabowo has to do is just do what he promised. Create jobs, stimulate the economy, help the needy,' Feri said. 'If he does that, no one will bother with pirate flags anymore.'
AsiaOne
3 days ago
- AsiaOne
Indonesian artists, students unfurl manga pirate sign as protest symbol, Asia News
BEKASI, Indonesia/KARANGANYAR, Indonesia — Spraypainting brick walls in an empty yard, Indonesian artist Kemas Muhammad Firdaus braved midday heat to paint a skull in a straw hat on a black background, a nod to the Japanese manga series "One Piece" about treasure-hunting pirates. Over the past month, students and activists in the world's third-largest democracy Indonesia have put up the pirate sign used by "One Piece" character Monkey D. Luffy as a symbol of protest against several government policies ahead of the country's Independence Day on Aug 17. Some officials have lambasted the sign, with a member of parliament saying it was akin to treason. President Prabowo Subianto's office said that while the country respects freedom of expression and criticism, the sign could undermine Indonesia's national flag if flown side by side. Kemas, 28, a mural artist in West Java's Bekasi district, said he was painting the pirate sign as a form of protest against government corruption and unemployment. "Many Indonesians are hoisting the 'One Piece' flag because they want the government to listen to them," Kemas said in an interview while drawing his mural, which shared some design elements of the official logo for Indonesia's 80th anniversary. In Central Java's Karanganyar district, custom-made flag seller Dendi Christanto said he had received an overwhelming number of "One Piece" flag orders over the past month and had stopped accepting them. The pirate sign has dominated Indonesian social media, and its popularity follows student protests in February across several cities against budget cuts and other policies, such as an increased role of the military in civilian life. Students and activists dubbed the demonstrations as "Dark Indonesia". Indonesia has a history of student activism and protests that sometimes turn violent. In 1998, students held a series of demonstrations against corruption, food shortages and mass unemployment that ended in deadly riots in May and the downfall of former President Suharto after decades of authoritarian rule. This week, local media reported that authorities in East Java confiscated some of the "One Piece" flags, a move criticised by Amnesty International as heavy-handed. "They didn't have to do all that, accusing them of dividing Indonesia — that's wrong," artist Kemas said. "It's just art." President Prabowo's office said the government did not order any raids. [[nid:720532]]
