JAKARTA - Coordinating Minister for Social Empowerment Muhaimin Iskandar (Cak Imin) strongly criticized the way law enforcement officers viewed creative work, following the case of videographer Amsal Christy Sitepu who was a defendant in the alleged corruption of the village profile video project in Karo Regency during the 2020-2022 period.
According to Muhaimin, the assessment of ideas, ideas, and production processes that are considered to have no economic value, even valued at Rp0, shows a wrong approach to the creative industry.
"The creative process is the life of the creative industry, it should be preserved for its expertise, not just eliminated, even criminalized. If ideas, ideas, and creative processes are valued at Rp0, it is not only wrong, it is dangerous. It is the same as killing creativity," said Cak Imin, Monday, March 30.
He explained that in the creative economy ecosystem, the value of a work is not only measured from the final output, but from the entire process involving research, idea exploration, production, to execution.
The conventional approach that ignores the process, he said, has the potential to have a wide impact, not only on industry players but also on the education sector.
"Don't let our campuses lose interest in teaching creativity, because it is considered to have no value. If creativity is valued at zero, who wants to learn, who wants to work?" he said.
Muhaimin also highlighted the contribution of the creative economy sector to society. He said millions of people depend on this sector for their livelihood, ranging from content creators to other creative workers such as editors and designers.
According to him, the creative economy is currently one of the new growth engines that need to be maintained.
"The government of President Prabowo is committed to empowering the creative industry ecosystem by protecting and appreciating creative workers. Don't let the wrong approach make creators afraid to work and lose their spirit," said Cak Imin.
He emphasized that recognition of the value of creativity is the main foundation if Indonesia wants to encourage innovation-based economic growth.
"If we want creative economy to grow, then we must start from the most basic thing: recognizing that creativity is valuable. Not zero, but rather it becomes the foundation," he said.
Cak Imin reminded that the current policies and perspectives will determine the future direction of the national creative industry.
"Don't kill creativity. Protect, facilitate, and appreciate. Because that's where the future of the Indonesian economy and community empowerment is built," he added.
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