About Malay Civilizations, Menbud Fadli Zon: Must Be Enlivened And Left To The New Generation

Menbud Fadli Zon during a visit to the UNAS (Doc. Kemenbud) campus

JAKARTA Malay civilization is one of the old civilizations rich in cultural expressions. This forum is an important momentum to ensure that Malay civilization is not only remembered, but is revived, developed, and passed on to future generations," said Minister of Culture of the Republic of Indonesia Fadli Zon when delivering a key speech at the International Conference of World Malay Civilizations at the National University (UNAS), Jakarta, Wednesday, September 17.

The themed conference 'Strengthening Cohesive Relations in Facing the Challenges of New World Civilization' brings together scholars, researchers, artists, and lovers of Malay heritage to maintain cultural wealth while at the same time encouraging innovation to remain relevant to the times and strengthen cross-border collaboration networks.

Menbud Fadli revealed that Indonesia holds extraordinary cultural wealth: 2,213 cultural heritages of non-obstacles have been registered nationally and the potential reaches 50 thousand, ranging fromLATHEs, manuscripts, oral traditions, traditional games and sports, literature, films, music, theaters, to dances. "There are so many expressions of our culture that are very rich. We can call this rich Indonesian culture as mega diversity," he said.

He also highlighted the large and worldwide Malay diaspora, including in Cape Town, South Africa. "But many of them can't speak Indonesian-Malay, even though they have an inner bond with Indonesia. This should be our common homework," he explained.

According to Menbud Fadli, Malay is a node of maritime civilization which since the 7th century AD has become an important economic route connecting India, China, the Middle East to Africa. The Malay language is recorded in the Bukit Complaints (683 AD), Talang Tuwo (683 AD), and Karang Berahi (686 M). This language later developed into the Southeast Asian franca lingua and on October 28, 1928 was inaugurated as Indonesian. Indonesian language is a binding power that unites the archipelago. One of the extraordinary Melayu cultural heritages," he said.

He reminded the threat of erosion of cultural identity in the midst of the current of globalization, such as the influence of foreign values and fragmentation of the historical narrative between Malay countries. This forum is a momentum to strengthen the spirit of cohesion of the Malay nations. Through cultural solidarity, we not only maintain legacy, but revive real cooperation," he said.

UNAS Vice Chancellor Ernawati Sinaga hopes that this conference will produce collaborations and policy recommendations to maintain the Malay civilization. Chairperson of the Presidium Iskandarsyah Siregar added that the conference which was initiated with the University of Malaya two years ago presented presentation sessions, workshops, and panel discussions related to Malay heritage, information technology, sociology, education to applied linguistics.