Vandalism In Batutulis Inscription, Deputy Minister Of Culture And Mayor Of Bogor Discuss Solutions

Bogor Mayor Dedie A. Rachim accompanied the working visit of the Deputy Minister of Culture of the Republic of Indonesia, Giring Ganesha, to the Batutulis Inscription, South Bogor District, Bogor City, Thursday, March 20.

Deputy Minister of Culture of the Republic of Indonesia, Giring Ganesha said that this working visit was a follow-up to information from cultural lovers about the existence of vandalism in the Batutulis Inscription managed by the West Java Region IX Cultural Preservation Center (BPK) Team, UPTD Ministry of Culture.

He asked the public to participate in guarding this historic site together.

"Keep your hands up, don't be fun, don't hold them a little bit, don't scribble a little bit, because we know that this stone is old," he said.

He added that if this rock is scratched, it will be difficult to repair and it will take time and more in-depth research.

"Just a team from BPK IX, to remove vandalism in the Batutulis inscription, maybe we have to research again to Borobudur, how in Borobudur we managed to clean up vandalism," he said.

He also reiterated that residents who come can protect this site together and be grateful that Indonesia is a country with a great civilization that has many valuable cultural heritages.

The Mayor of Bogor, Dedie A. Rachim expressed his gratitude for the attention of the Ministry of Culture who saw firsthand the condition of the Batutulis Inscription.

He hopes that in the future there will be more intense collaboration between the Bogor City Government and the Ministry of Culture.

"Because this site is under the authority of the hall, we also ask that in the future CCTV can be installed. In addition, at certain hours it can be closed according to working hours, so there are no incidents outside of supervision," he said.

The guardian of the Batutulis Inscription, Firman, said that this vandalism took place about a month ago before Ramadan. At that time, the Batutulis inscription was crowded with people.

"Last month it happened, because every day there were many pilgrimages. When caught, there was the name 'Huda' which was crossed out on the stone. It was deleted, but it didn't go away," he said.

Firman suspects that vandalism is using oil, so it is difficult to eliminate it. Later, the cleaning will be carried out by a special team.

"It seems like using oil, so it's hard to get rid of. But later we will try, involve archaeologists. We don't know what oil should be, if oil gets hit, we don't have to hit the rock," he said.