TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesia's Minister of Culture Fadli Zon dismissed claims that the government's project to rewrite Indonesian history is being rushed. He asserted that the goal of completing the 10-volume book series by August 2025 is realistic and reflects the standards of professional historians.
"If people say it's rushed, I don’t think that’s true. Everyone involved is a professional in their field, so the timeline makes sense," he said during an online public discussion on the draft of the Indonesian history book held on Monday, July 28, 2025.
Fadli explained that the books are being written by 112 contributors from 34 universities across Indonesia, including professors and veteran historians. "These are not people who are just learning to write or copying content from Google. These are experts who have spent decades studying their fields," he said.
He also expressed regret that Indonesia's official history is only now being compiled. According to him, the country should have produced a formal written history much earlier. "It has been 26 years since the government last published an official version of our national history," he said.
Fadli stressed that the writing process cannot be delayed any longer, warning that the younger generation risks losing their sense of national identity.
"If we don’t write our own history, our youth may end up knowing more about the history of America or Europe than about Indonesia," he said.
He described the project as an intellectual gift to mark 80 years of Indonesia's independence. Fadli emphasized that the books are not meant to present a single, fixed narrative, but rather to invite discussion and public contributions.
"History should not be hidden. It must be open to debate, but first, it must be written. If the Directorate of History does not take up this task, then it has no reason to exist," he said.
Fadli also noted that the Directorate General of Cultural Protection and Tradition, which had been dissolved in 2020, was reactivated under his leadership.
He hopes the directorate can now function at full capacity, with one of its key priorities being the completion of the history book project.
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