Indonesia should screen influences, says Soeharto
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia has no intention to insulate itself from the onslaught of foreign cultures, but will be selective in accepting new elements, President Soeharto hopes.
Opening the exhibition of ancient manuscripts at the National Library here yesterday, Soeharto said that no country would want to be so open that it embraces other cultures indiscriminately.
"We have no intention whatsoever to seal ourselves off economically, politically, socially or culturally," he told a gathering of academicians, librarians, senior officials and foreign dignitaries.
"We are part of mankind. But that doesn't mean that we'll swallow everything that comes from outside," he said.
"An openness without limits will not only cause a nation to lose its identity, but will also affect its direction in an increasingly complicated world."
President Soeharto, however, acknowledged that it was interaction between cultures that has helped make Indonesian culture rich and unique.
The display of 100 old manuscripts -- some dating back to the fifth and sixth centuries -- is the highlight of a series of activities designed to promote and conserve Indonesian literary works. The exhibition will be open until June 21.
The manuscripts, which belong to the National Library, come from all over the archipelago, according to Achdiati Ikram, the organizing committee's chairperson.
The University of Indonesia's School of Letters, the National Library and the Lontar Foundation jointly organized these activities for the literary community to celebrate national writing traditions. An international symposium on old Indonesian manuscripts was held earlier this month at the University of Indonesia's School of Medicine.
The event yesterday was capped by the launching of a book on the history of Indonesian manuscript writing.
The book, Illuminations: Writing Traditions of Indonesia, a detailed history of writing and the art of calligraphy in Indonesia, contains a wealth of fine reproductions of old manuscripts.
The book, written by experts commissioned by the Lontar Foundation, was edited by Dr. Ann Kumar, and John H. McGlynn, an American co-founder of Lontar. It is jointly published by Lontar and Weatherhill Inc. of New York.
Sapardi Djoko Damono, another Lontar co-founder, said the Indonesian edition of the book, Candi Bahasa: Tradisi Menulis di Indonesia, will be published later in the year.
Lontar, established in 1987, is a non-profit organization whose primary aim is to foster greater appreciation of Indonesian culture. It has translated the works of noted Indonesian writers and has been active in film, theater, dance and art as well as the preservation of old manuscripts.
In her speech, head of the National Library Mastini Hardjoprakoso said that the library has more than 1,100,000 copies of manuscripts, written on palmyra, tree barks, bamboo and a type of ancient paper called dluwang. (swe)