Indonesia Adds 85 National Cultural Heritage Sites, Total Now Reaches 313

JAKARTA - Indonesia is known as a country with a wealth of cultural heritage that is very diverse, ranging from archaeological sites, historic buildings, to high-value objects that record the long journey of the nation's civilization.

The existence of cultural heritage is an important element in maintaining national identity as well as ensuring that historical relics remain sustainable for future generations.

In an effort to strengthen the protection of cultural heritage, the government has again designated 85 national cultural heritages. This addition brings the total number of national cultural heritages in Indonesia to 313 objects.

Minister of Culture Fadli Zon said that the number has increased significantly compared to before. "This year, 85 national cultural sites have been designated. Thus, the total is now 313 from the previous 228," he said in Jakarta, Tuesday.

However, Fadli assessed that the figure was still far from ideal when compared to the area and the diversity of Indonesia's history and culture. According to him, the potential for national cultural heritage could actually reach thousands, even tens of thousands of objects.

One of the current government's concerns is the National Museum, which houses around 194,000 collections. Of these, it is estimated that at least 10 percent or around 19,000 objects have a high chance of meeting the criteria as a national cultural heritage.

English:

"Our national cultural heritage should not be only hundreds. With the wealth of artifacts owned, the number can be thousands, including important collections in the National Museum," said Fadli.

As a follow-up, the government opened the opportunity to form a special team tasked with carrying out the curation and assessment process for certain museum collections. The initial focus is directed at the National Museum given its historical value and the very large number of collections.

The team is expected to accelerate the process of identifying and determining historical objects in order to obtain a more systematic national cultural heritage status.

The government also cited steps that have been taken by a number of regions, such as the Special Region of Yogyakarta, which first proposed the collection of sculptures in its museum until it was finally designated as a national cultural heritage.

This shows that museum collections have great opportunities to be designated as cultural heritage through a structured mechanism. In addition, special attention is also given to the collection of repatriated results, namely historical objects that have been repatriated from abroad to Indonesia.

A number of repatriation collections currently stored at the National Museum do not yet have the status of national cultural heritage, despite having strong historical value and symbol of national identity. The government emphasizes that the repatriation collection that will come in the future needs to immediately enter the determination process.

The designation as a national cultural heritage is not only a form of state recognition, but also provides a strong legal basis for the protection, preservation, and sustainable use of culture.

With this status, historical objects have better protection from the risk of damage, illegal removal, and loss of the historical value inherent in them.