Ministry Of Education And Culture Collaborates With Professor Ulrich Kozok To Discuss Sisingamangaraja Collection In Belgium

Minister of Culture Fadli Zon received an audience of historians and literary experts, Professor Ulrich Kozok (Doc. Kemenbud)

JAKARTA - "Repatriation is part of the restoration of knowledge and culture," said Culture Minister Fadli Zon when receiving an audience of historians and literary experts, Professor Ulrich Kozok, along with researcher Agus Iswanto at the Ministry of Culture Office, Senayan, Tuesday, October 14.

The meeting discussed efforts to recover the collection of Siningamangaraja National Hero relics which are now stored in the aan de Stroom Museum, Belgium.

Fadli emphasized the government's commitment to fighting for the repatriation of historical objects spread across various countries. "The Ministry of Culture already has a repatriation team consisting of cultural heritage experts. The repatriation process is already underway, and finally we managed to return the Dubois collection to Indonesia," he said.

According to Fadli, repatriation is not only a matter of returning objects, but of restoring the nation's identity. He assessed that each artifact has invaluable historical and cultural value, so it must be returned to enrich the national cultural heritage.

In addition to repatriation from abroad, Fadli highlighted the importance of data collection and conservation of domestic museum collections. "In the future, regional museums must also be able to record and observe their collections, including ancient manuscripts and manuscripts, to be more organized. This is part of the promotion of culture," he said.

Professor Ulrich Kozok, a researcher in various languages in Indonesia who is also a professor of Indonesian studies at the University of Hawaii, fully supports this step. He said he had established communication with a number of foreign museums that were willing to return collections belonging to Indonesia. Manuscrip is a very important cultural heritage. I am ready to assist in the process of returning the Sisingamangaraja collection from Belgium," he said.

The meeting was also attended by the Special Staff of the Minister for History and Cultural Heritage Protection Basuki Teguh Yuwono, Expert Staff for Economics and Culture Industry Anindita Kusuma Listya, and the Director of Cultural Promotion Undri.

Menbud Fadli closed the meeting with appreciation to Professor Ulrich. "We are very happy to hear this support. Hopefully the aan de Stroom Museum will really return its collection to Indonesia," he said.