JAKARTA: A designated National Culture Day coinciding with Indonesia President Prabowo Subianto’s birthday has come under fire from senior political figures and academics.
They challenged the date’s cultural and historical significance amid growing concerns over the politicisation of national symbols and figures, and raised questions over perceived attempts to curry favour politically.
Politicians such as House Speaker Puan Maharani have urged Culture Minister Fadli Zon to explain his decision to choose Oct 17 as the National Culture Day.
“I’m asking for a clearer explanation of the basis and reasoning behind the decision, in order to avoid ongoing public debate,” Puan said at the parliamentary complex on Tuesday (Jul 15), as quoted by CNN Indonesia.
She added that she has instructed Commission X of the Indonesian House of Representatives, which oversees cultural affairs in the country among other sectors, to look into the matter in greater detail.
“Culture belongs to all people, across generations, across eras and so on, so it must not be made exclusive,” Puan, who is also the daughter of former President Megawati Soekarnoputri, said.
Puan is part of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), Indonesia’s largest political party, which is not part of the ruling government.
Critics condemned the lack of public consultation and transparency surrounding the decision, with some accusing Fadli, who is a close ally of the president, of attempting to flatter Prabowo, local news outlet Jakarta Post reported.
“People don’t seem to object to National Poetry Day (because the date makes sense),” historian Asvi Warman Adam told Jakarta Post.
He added: “But with National Culture Day, the issue is that it falls on Prabowo’s birthday, raising questions whether ministers like Fadli even have the authority to issue such commemorative dates.”
Fadli’s decision to declare Dec 17 as the National Pantun (Poetry) Day via a separate decree on the same date last week had drawn less criticism as it coincides with the day UNESCO officially recognised pantun – a traditional Malay four-line rhyming poem – as part of the world’s intangible cultural heritage, according to Jakarta Post.
