Fadli Zon: Regional Autonomy Should Not Only Manage the Budget, Culture Must Be the Basis

JAKARTA - Minister of Culture Fadli Zon considers that regional autonomy is not enough to be understood as an administrative and budgetary affair. The region must also build policies from its own cultural roots.

This was conveyed by Fadli when he was a keynote speaker at the national seminar of the National University Political Science Doctoral Program in Jakarta, Thursday, June 4.

According to Fadli, the wealth of the Nusantara culture needs to be placed as the basis for regional development. He said Indonesia is not only a nation-state, but also a civilization state.

Fadli said Indonesia has 1,340 ethnic groups, 718 regional languages, 2,727 intangible cultural heritages, and 743 national cultural reserves.

At the global level, Indonesia also recorded 16 elements of Intangible Cultural Heritage and 6 World Heritage sites at UNESCO.

"If each region has a different historical origin, cultural landscape, local knowledge, and experience of civilization, then regional autonomy and development should not be uprooted from the collective memory of its people," said Fadli.

He assessed that regional autonomy often stopped at bureaucratic and fiscal affairs. In fact, the culture also helps shape the identity, social relations, and direction of community development.

Therefore, Fadli asked the local government to provide more space for strengthening local culture. Not only through ceremonial events, but also in planning, regulation, budget, education, and regional economy.

Fadli said the government has five directions for national cultural policies. Among them, placing culture as the basis for development, strengthening data-based governance, developing the cultural economy, protecting cultural heritage, and strengthening cultural diplomacy.

He also conveyed eight agendas for the regional government and DPRD.

First, make the Regional Cultural Mind or PPKD as the basis for planning and budgeting. Second, strengthen the cultural institutions and human resources in the region.

Third, protect regional languages and the inheritance of intergenerational cultural values. Fourth, formulate regional cultural rules according to local characteristics.

Fifth, strengthen cultural data collection. Sixth, protect the Community Intellectual Property or KIK so that culturally valuable expressions are not used unilaterally.

Seventh, building cultural spaces such as museums and cultural parks as public dialogue spaces. Eighth, developing the local cultural economy without damaging the noble values of local culture.

Fadli emphasized that culture is not a marginal matter in development. In regional autonomy, culture needs to be included in public policy so that development does not lose direction and identity.

The seminar was also attended by Yuddy Chrisnandi National University Management Advisor, Vice Rector Suryono Efendi, Vice Rector Ernawati Sinaga, and Director of Cultural Heritage of the Ministry of Culture Agus Widiatmoko.