Minister Of Education And Culture Bans Elementary And Middle School Students From Watching G30S/PKI Films In Today's Memory, 27 September 2017

JAKARTA Memories of today, seven years ago, September 27, 2017, the Minister of Education and Culture (Mendikbud), Muhadjir Effendy banned Elementary School (SD) and Junior High School (SMP) students from watching the film Pengcasahan G30S/PKI. The film is for adults.

Previously, the film G30S/PKI was obliged to appear on television during the New Order (Orba) era. Everything changed when Habibie became President of Indonesia. The film is not mandatory to be shown. Recently, there has been an educational service that requires school children to watch films related to G30S/PKI.

The events of the September 30th Movement (G30S) 1965 are indeed known as the darkest period in the history of the journey of the Indonesian nation. The New Order government did not want the memory of the cruelty of the traitor of the nation in the G30S to fade.

The government also disbursed funds to support the emergence of the G30S/PKI Housing film. The film is then required to be broadcast on state and private television every September 30 from the 1980s.

The film continues to be played even though it has received criticism. However, only in the era of President Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie that the screening of the film was finally stopped on September 30, 1998. Habibie considers the Indonesian people no longer need to explore past sadness.

This narrative actually made the Indonesian people not advance. He also tried to embrace all groups without discriminating their understanding. Habibie wanted unity, not conflict. Habibie's decision to become the estuary of the Flim Penumpasan Pengkhargaan G30S/PKI lost his echo.

The film has just heard its voice again in the era of the government of President Joko Widodo (Jokowi). Take for example in 2017. President Jokowi will certainly participate in watching films that are considered to have a lot of fictional content, rather than reality.

Kehebohan pun muncul ketika Dinas Pendidikan Kota Padang mengeluarkan surat imbauan yang meminta seluruh anak sekolah di wilayah kuasanya untuk menonton film tentang G30S/PKI pada 22 Sepetem 2017.

Instead of just watching, the Padang City Education Office also asked students who watched to write a resume of the G30S film. Later, the resume will be contested. The prizes are also prepared by each school according to class.

To foster a sense of love for the homeland and deep awareness of students towards the history of the nation's struggle, especially maintaining the ideology of Pancasila as the basis of the state. So all to all elementary and junior high school principals both public and private throughout Padang City to be able to assign students accompanied by their parents to watch the film G30S," explained the contents of the circular letter number 421.1/435.7/DP/Dikdas, 3/2017.

The appeal angered the Minister of Education and Culture Muhadjir on September 27, 2017, he firmly forbade elementary and junior high school students to watch the film Penumpasan Pengcabutan G30S/PKI. Muhadjir thought the film was clearly according to censorship institutions - intended for adults, not children.

The film, directed by Arifin C. Noer, is considered to have a lot of sadistic content in his agegan. Fiction too. In the past, the film Penumpasan Pengkhargaan G30S/PKI was broadcast at 22.00. Not at prime time (main air time) when the family was gathering.

Muhadjir pun telah berkoordinasi kembali dengan Dinas Pendidikan Kota Padang. The rest, jika ada Dinas Pendidikan yang kekeuh mewajibkan anak sekolah menonton akan diberikan sanksi.

"SD is not allowed. Middle school is also not allowed, there are standards, film censorship. It has information that the film can only be watched for adults. In the past, television aired after 10 pm," said Muhadjir as quoted on the tempo.co page, September 27, 2017.