Tuesday, March 19, 2024 | 10:00 WIB

SOCIAL CULTURE

Terrorism in Palestine

Israel and most Westen countries have dubbed the horrific events of the 7th of October 2023 as terrorism and Hamas as a terrorist organization and what occurred on that day was truly horrific. Emergency responders have described how they found that Hamas had tied up and shot whole families including women, children and old people, they cut-off the limbs of living people including children. Hamas did not just kill Israelis but tortured some of them and dismembered the bodies of the dead cutting off their heads or limbs. They raped women. Videos show Hamas savagely battering people to death. What occurred that day was not only clearly a violation of humanitarian international laws but barbaric in its brutality.

Quo Vadis, Indonesia? Part II: Heritage Buildings

 Last week, I wrote about how in the aftermath of the fire that destroyed six rooms of Wing A of the old building in the Indonesian National Museum last September, an opportunity has presented itself for the government to launch a new policy and initiative in public private partnership. The origins of the Museum in fact stem from public private partnership and if approached with a far more welcoming and cooperative attitude private collectors, philanthropists and non-profit institutions, would be open to helping the government not only replace lost collections but increase them as well as creating better and more frequented museums.

Quo Vadis, Indonesia? Part I: Museums

As a person involved in the field of heritage, for more than 25 years I have observed the work of ministers and director generals for culture in Indonesia since the late 1990s and I believe that in Nadiem Makarim and Hilmar Farid, we currently have the best minister and director general for culture of the whole period. They are bringing many well needed changes that will advance Indonesian education and culture for many years to come. It is unfortunate that the Indonesian National Museum fire occurred during their term as it will surely complicate what are already not easy tasks that they face in carrying out their work. The fire was a disaster and a tragedy nevertheless, in its wake there is some good news and it presents an opportunity as a launching point to introduce a new direction with regard to public private partnership for museums and heritage buildings. There are of course also, many unanswered questions relating to the fire that need to be answered to pave a better future for the National Museum and museums in general in Indonesia.

The Museum on Fire…

The Indonesian National Museum caught fire and began burning at about 7.45 pm on Saturday, the 16th of September 2023 and by 8 pm the fire brigade had been called. They arrived within minutes of the call, as the fire department is situated close by. Despite the long dry season, the canal behind the Museum still had water in it and soon dirty canal water was being used to try to douse the fire which rose like an orange and red rooster flying to the top of a building at the back of the old section of the Museum - the part built between 1862 and 1868.

The Coral Triangle Centre

When Indonesians refer to their homeland they say, tanah air or our ‘land and water’ for 77 percent of Indonesia’s territory consists of water, making up altogether 6,4 million square kilometres of sea. In fact, some people refer to Indonesia not just as a maritime state but as a maritime continent. This is because when compared to West Asia which consists of 19 countries, Indonesia’s territory is larger, as West Asia only covers an area of 6,2 square kilometres.

A Move to NusantaraA Break with Jakarta and History

Indonesian Independence Day is the 17th of August and every year on the 17th of August, Indonesians place a flag in front of their house and neighbourhoods put up red and white banners and bunting. However, they say that this year is the last time the President celebrates the 17th of August in Jakarta. Next year, he will celebrate it in the new capital, Nusantara.

The Transformative Power of Art

The first head of the Akademi Jakarta or Jakarta Academy of the Taman Ismail Marzuki Cultural Centre in Jakarta was my father, Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana who was a novelist, a sociologist, a linguist, a philosopher and a futurologist. After his death every year, the Akademi Jakarta holds the Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana Memorial lecture where a guest speaker is invited to speak about a subject of their choice in which they have expertise.

A Ukrainian Art Exhibition in Jakarta

It is nearly one and half a years, since Russia first invaded Ukraine and many predicted that the war would be short-lived. Mr Putin predicted that his special military operations would last a few days but that has clearly not been the case. Within that time, Russia has been able to capture a crescent of Ukrainian territory near Crimea but the Ukrainians succeeded in saving their capital and northern territories and in taking back some of the territory that Russia captured. They have begun their counter offensive and contrary to what Mr Putin predicted, the Ukrainian War appears to be headed towards becoming a long-drawn-out war.

A visit to Australia. Perth Part II: Making Peace

IO - In Part I of my article about Perth I explained that recently, I was invited to visit an old friend to celebrate 40 years of friendship in Perth. As an Indonesian, the...

A visit to Australia. Perth Part I: Invaders

IO - Perth cast an enchantment over me that lasted for days after I had left it far behind. I could not seem to get its tranquil beauty and beguiling magic out of my...

A fundraiser for Ukraine a year after Russia’s invasion

IO - On Saturday, the 25th of February, the Ukrainian Embassy in Jakarta held a charity event to raise funds for Ukraine’s First Lady, Olena Zelenska’s charity foundation. The event, ‘Charity Dinner: Soul with...

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