JAKARTA: The Indonesian government has postponed the launch of its controversial national history book project by about three months, though critics still call for it to be scrapped entirely.
Initially slated to be launched this Sunday (Aug 17) – which is Indonesia’s Independence Day – the 10-volume book is now slated to be released on Nov 10 to coincide with the country’s National Heroes Day.
The day commemorates the Battle of Surabaya – a fierce conflict in 1945 between Indonesian nationalists and British forces.
The history rewrite project has been widely criticised by historians and human rights activists for “sanitising the nation’s past” and omitting major human rights violations.
According to local media, the books are meant to become the country’s historical reference for students across all education levels there.
“Our plan is to still launch the book this year … because this is part of a series of events to celebrate 80 years of Indonesian independence,” Culture Minister Fadli Zon was quoted as saying by Jakarta Post on Aug 10.
Fadli, who is part of President Prabowo Subianto’s Gerindra Party, said that the postponement would give more time to “perfect the draft”, adding that it may require two or three more rounds of public discussions before publication.
According to Fadli, these public discussions and forums have been conducted openly at four local universities: University of Indonesia in Jakarta, the State University of Padang in West Sumatra, Lambung Mangkurat University in Kalimantan and the State University of Makassar in Sulawesi.
“We will continue (these public discussions) with other history enthusiasts and historians,” he said, as reported by Tempo.
These discussions at universities have been ongoing since late July, according to Jakarta Post, which the minister said has generated “various interesting suggestions” that would enrich the work.
