Government Allocates IDR 9 Billion Budget To Update History Books

JAKARTA - Minister of Culture Fadil Zon said the government allocated funds of around Rp. 9 billion to update Indonesia's history book.

"I forgot how much the budget was, not a lot. If I'm not mistaken, the record is IDR 9 billion," Fadli said as quoted by ANTARA, Monday, May 26.

He said the process of updating Indonesian history books involved a team that included 113 writers, 20 volume editors, and three general editors.

According to him, the Indonesian history book update team consisted of historians and academics in the fields of science, geography, history, and other humanities from Aceh to Papua.

Fadli conveyed that the historical book update would be carried out inclusively by prioritizing the perspective of Indonesia's centrists starting from Indonesia's early history, the colonial period, the war of independence, the reform era, to the election era.

"So, we want this history to be written inclusively with a critical Indonesia, so the perspective of Indonesia, if the Dutch perspective does not have colonialism, yes (in Indonesia), they see it different," he said.

"For example, military aggression I and military aggression II, if the version of the Dutch is the action of the police and the action of the second police, therefore the control of the vandals of security for the Dutch," he said.

Fadli explained that Bung Tomo, considered as an extremist and terrorist by the shopping colonialists, was a national hero for the Indonesian nation.

In writing the history of the struggle against the invaders, he said, the government wanted to highlight the resistances that occurred in various regions in Indonesia.

Efforts to update Indonesia's history book will be carried out starting January 2025 and is targeted for completion in August 2025.

The Minister of Culture emphasized the importance of updating Indonesia's history book to increase the knowledge of the younger generation regarding the history of its nation.

Fadli is worried that without adequate historical knowledge the younger generation will no longer know Soekarno and Mohammad Hatta as proclaimers of Indonesian independence.

"It is thought that Soekarno Hatta is one name, because the name of the airport is Soekarno-Hatta, especially since Soetta is abbreviated now, there is a new name. So, in my opinion, this is dangerous for our identity and character," he said.