Ministry of Education and Rhoma Irama Try to Make Dangdut a Cultural Heritage to UNESCO

JAKARTA - The government will propose dangdut music as a World Intangible Cultural Heritage of UNESCO. The statement was made by the Minister of Culture of the Republic of Indonesia, Fadli Zon, in a meeting with the Indonesian Dangdut Music Artists Association (PAMDI) led by Rhoma Irama at the Ministry of Culture Building, Monday, February 23.

This meeting follows up on the long-standing discourse between the government and the dangdut community. The focus is two, namely preparing a proposal file to UNESCO and discussing strategies for the advancement of dangdut in the country.

Fadli emphasized that the submission to UNESCO could not be done unilaterally. Key documents such as academic manuscripts and dossiers must be prepared together with the community. "Of course this must be done together with the community, in this case PAMDI and other organizations, and musicians who are competent in this field," Fadli said in a written statement received by VOI.

He also said that dangdut had been registered as an Indonesian Intangible Cultural Heritage - an important capital to move to the UNESCO stage. However, Fadli reminded, international recognition requires evidence of a living ecosystem: the practice is running, the community is strong, and the preservation steps are clear.

Rhoma Irama fully supports the plan and at the same time clarifies the debate on the origin of dangdut. He rejects the assumption that dangdut is "imported music" from India. "Until now, there are still those who say that dangdut comes from India and not our culture. I as a practitioner of the history of the dangdut music revolution can testify that dangdut comes from the development of the Malay orchestra," said Rhoma.

According to Rhoma, dangdut grew from Malay music which absorbed many influences, then formed a distinctive Indonesian character. He stated that he was ready to help in the preparation of the UNESCO submission documents.

Apart from the UNESCO issue, Fadli emphasized the strengthening of the dangdut ecosystem through cross-party cooperation - regional governments, art centers, the music industry, and the media. In the meeting, support that has been running, including the awarding of awards to a number of media platforms that are considered to contribute to the advancement of culture through the dangdut music program, was also discussed.

Present at the meeting were Camelia Malik (Vice Chairman of PAMDI), Ike Nurjanah, Haji Mansyur S., Cici Paramida, and Siti KDI. From the Ministry of Culture, Ahmad Mahendra, Endah T.D. Retno Astuti, Ismunandar, Syaifullah Agam, and I Made Dharma Suteja were present.

The Ministry of Culture and PAMDI agreed to immediately start preparing academic manuscripts, dangdut proposal dossiers, and supporting diplomatic steps.