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View all search resultsLawmakers push to halt Fadli Zon’s 'history denialism' textbooks
Following the culture minister's skepticism over the mass rapes that occurred during the May 1998 riots, lawmakers are pushing back by suggesting that their release next month be either postponed or canceled.
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Culture Minister Fadli Zon (center) listens to questions from lawmakers during a meeting with House of Representatives Commission X on July 2, 2025, at the Senayan legislative complex in Jakarta. (Antara/Rivan Awal Lingga)
T
he House of Representatives has confronted Culture Minister Fadli Zon over his denial of the cases of mass rape that occurred during the May 1998 riots, a controversial stance tied to his efforts to revise history textbooks to portray the country’s past leaders in a more favorable light, both of which have sparked a public backlash.
Several lawmakers have urged Fadli, a close ally of President Prabowo Subianto, to postpone or even cancel next month’s scheduled release of the revisionist history books to coincide with Indonesia’s 80th independence anniversary.
During the ministry’s budget meeting on Wednesday with House of Representatives Commission X, which oversees education, lawmakers questioned Fadli over remarks he made last month that dismissed the mass rapes as “rumors”.
The mass sexual assault, which primarily targeted Chinese-Indonesian women, occurred amid days of unrest preceding the fall of the authoritarian regime of Soeharto, who was then the father-in-law of Prabowo Subianto.
Despite widespread backlash, Fadli stood by his comments that cast doubt over the scale of the incidents.
“The word ‘mass’ is very much associated with being structured and systematic. For example, the estimated number of victims in the Nanjing mass rape ranged from 100,000 to 200,000 and in Bosnia, between 30,000 and 50,000,” Fadli told the meeting.
Read also: Why a government-sponsored history project is stirring controversy
