An ill-fated treasure hunt<\/p>\n
Of course, Minister of Religious Affairs Said Agiel Munawar
\ncould hardly have foreseen that the little adventure he started
\nlast week should have taken the turn it did. What began as an
\napparently well-intentioned, if irrational and impulsive,
\ntreasure hunt has grown into a scandal that could not only cost
\nhim his job, but the government of President Megawati
\nSoekarnoputri its credibility as a rational-thinking and sensible
\ngovernment capable of leading the nation out of its current
\nhardships.<\/p>\n
The whole affair -- which could have been humorous if it were
\nnot so sad -- started with a psychic informing the minister that
\ntreasure of immense value lay buried underneath a stone monument
\nthat presently stands at the side of a river in Batutulis, Bogor.
\nThere was enough treasure, he was told, to pay off Indonesia's
\nmountain of foreign debts. The Batutulis monument is a slab of
\nstone bearing an inscription in ancient Palawa script proclaiming
\nthe eminence of Prabu Guru Dewata Prana, who in the mid-16th
\ncentury was apparently crowned king of the Hindu kingdom of
\nPakuan Pajajaran under the title Sri Baduga Maharaja Ratu Haji.
\nThere is some mention of his greatness, but no mention at all of
\ntreasure.<\/p>\n
The belief in hidden treasure and sanctified graves, however,
\nis certainly not at all uncommon in Indonesia. Even in these
\nmodern days, somber old graves and graveyards believed to hold
\nthe remains of hallowed individuals of the past attract hordes of
\npilgrims on certain days of the week. The Batutulis site, being
\none of the oldest known legacies of prehistoric Sunda, West Java,
\nhas for many years been a rich source of imaginative tales of
\ntreasure hidden underneath the stone menhirs of the ancient
\nPajajaran kingdom. In this respect, Minister of Religious Affairs
\nSaid Agiel is certainly not the first Indonesian to be taken in
\nby the smooth talk of soothsayers. In Said Agiel's case, however,
\nthere are a few points that need to be considered.<\/p>\n
First, as a Cabinet minister -- and a good Muslim at that --
\nhe is supposed to lead Indonesians out of their age-old tradition
\nof myth and superstition and into the sane world of modernity and
\nrationality. Second, the very fact that Said Agiel, as Minister
\nof Religious Affairs, has seen nothing wrong in overstepping his
\nauthority and trespassing into the domain of another government
\ndepartment -- in this case the Ministry of Education and Culture,
\nwhich oversees archaeology -- indicates a serious organizational
\ndefect within the government bureaucracy. Third, it certainly
\ndoes not befit a Cabinet minister to barge in on an illegal
\nexcavation to personally oversee a small workforce of villagers
\ndigging an archaeological site in search of treasure, armed only
\nwith simple farmer's hoes.<\/p>\n
As a consequence of all this, the archaeological authorities
\nin charge of guarding and preserving prehistoric monuments are
\nfeeling slighted. The Sundanese people of West Java, who consider
\nthemselves heir to the cultural heritage of the ancient Pajajaran
\nkingdom, feel insulted and have demanded an apology, threatening
\nto take the minister to court for willfully destroying a
\nprotected historical site, an offense punishable by ten years in
\njail and\/or a fine of Rp 100 million. As the uproar continues to
\nresonate across the province, sarcastic comments and jokes are
\nbeing told and retold about the incident and people are asking
\nthemselves why, if the search for treasure cannot be called off,
\nmore modern and scientific spotting methods were not used in the
\nfirst place.<\/p>\n
After everything is said and done, though, all this could
\nmerely be the latest and most blatant expression of the
\nprevailing Indonesian get-rich-quickly mentality. Fortunately,
\nthere is one other lesson that can be drawn from this incident --
\nwhich is there is no such thing as a free lunch. It is fortunate
\nthat President Megawati has been quick to distance herself from
\nthis ill-fated treasure hunt by denying any involvement in the
\nadventure. By so doing, at least she is signaling to the nation
\nthat blind superstition has no place in the running of her
\ngovernment.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/an-ill-fated-treasure-hunt-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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