Indonesia should screen influences, says Soeharto
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)