Government to introduce critical learning
Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The government will allow schools to choose their history textbooks and teach all the conflicting versions in class so as to allow students to learn critically about various events in the past, an official said on Monday.
Minister of National Education Abdul Malik Fajar said that the decision to allow the use of any textbooks was taken after the government said it would not make any revision to existing history textbooks.
The government would also create a wide opportunity for the publication of other versions of history, he said.
"History teachers should teach wisely all versions of history to their classes and open discussion on the subject. By doing this, we're encouraging the thinking process of the students and letting them criticize historical records," he said.
Malik made the remarks at a joint media conference with State Minister of Culture and Tourism I Gde Ardika and the Indonesian Military's (TNI's) head of history and traditional research Brig. Gen. Busri Boer at the Theater Room of the Divine Pancasila Monument in Lubang Buaya, East Jakarta.
Both Malik and Ardika planned to invite historians to discuss the issues around the 1965 aborted coup attempt blamed on the now-defunct Indonesian Communist Party from an "objective" point of view.
"The issues will be considered as objectively as possible, but not necessarily in the form of the government's white book or reference. It will be one of our initiatives to unify perspectives on how to evaluate history," Malik said.
He said that there had thus far been many memoirs and books claiming to show what really happened on the night of the incident and the role of particular persons in that tragedy.
Busri Boer admitted that even though many versions of the tragedy had been published, none had yet been verified.
"So far we still stick to the first version since it was based on evidence and testimonies from those that took part in the tragedy and from studies around the incident," he said.
The media briefing took place after the ceremony for the commemoration of National Tragedy Remembrance Day on Oct. 1, which was formerly known as Divine Pancasila Day.
Monday's ceremony took only about 20 minutes, without any formalities or visits by the guests to the memorabilia or exhibits at the monument of the massacre of nine military generals on Sept. 30, 1965.
No special stage was built for distinguished guests, including President Megawati Soekarnoputri, who presided over the ceremony that started at 8 a.m.
The routine reading and signing of an oath to safeguard Pancasila by the speaker of the House of Representatives was also omitted from the ceremony.
The event was more focused on contemplating the national tragedy and not creating psychological trauma so the next generation could learn the values of the bloody tragedy and not let it happen again, Malik said.