Book on Indonesian history to be rewritten<\/p>\n
Fitri Wulandari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The government will write a new book on Indonesian history in
\na response to the public's rising demand for the truth, an
\nofficial said on Thursday.<\/p>\n
Susanto Zuhdi, the director of history at the Ministry of
\nNational Education, said the government would leave the process
\nof rewriting the history book to the public to avoid any
\naccusations that the book is another government version.<\/p>\n
He said that during the previous regime, history books were
\nwritten mainly to serve the interests of rulers by applying only
\none version of history.<\/p>\n
"This is dangerous. A state should not restrain the writing of
\nhistory. We want to encourage people to write their version of
\nhistory," Susanto Zuhdi told The Jakarta Post after a media
\nbriefing on the National History Conference to be held by the
\nIndonesian History Society (MSI) next week.<\/p>\n
Susanto said that since the book would be rewritten by the
\npublic, there would be different versions of certain historical
\nevents.<\/p>\n
"History is no longer about a justification of the facts. It
\nshould generate dialog to allow different interpretations. We
\nwant to educate the public that different versions in history are
\nnormal," Susanto said.<\/p>\n
The current history book of Indonesia, prepared by the
\nMinistry of Education and Culture, was first published in 1974.
\nFor decades, the book was the sole reference for history books,
\nincluding school textbooks.<\/p>\n
Susanto reiterated that the new book would not become the sole
\nreference or standard for the writing of other Indonesian history
\nbooks.<\/p>\n
He said that the government would assign the historian
\nsociety, an organization of history experts, teachers and
\nresearchers, to prepare the concept and contents of the new book.<\/p>\n
Susanto reiterated that the existing national history book had
\nbecome obsolete because it did not accommodate new findings in
\nhistory or new realities in society, which are also a part of
\nIndonesian history, such as the communal conflict in the country.<\/p>\n
"Our history has expanded. Researchers and experts have found
\nout new things. It will enrich our history, so that it will deal
\nnot only with ancient kingdoms," Susanto said.<\/p>\n
He said that the new book would have many fresh topics,
\nincluding violence by the state, the history of conflict, the
\nhistory of culture, exploration of local history and maritime
\nhistory.<\/p>\n
Controversial historical events such as the Sept. 30, 1965
\naborted coup and East Timor will be presented along with
\ndeveloping versions.<\/p>\n
"There is a lot of room that we have to fill in about our
\nhistory. There are many issues that we haven't explored or have
\nneglected," Susanto said, adding that the process to rewrite the
\nnew book could take up to at least two years.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/book-on-indonesian-history-to-be-rewritten-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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