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Sluggish implementation of culture law disappoints artists

Two years after the Cultural Advancement Law was enacted, artists and communities are still waiting for the government to realize its promises.

A. Muh. Ibnu Aqil (The Jakarta Post)
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Jakarta
Mon, July 1, 2019

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Sluggish implementation of culture law disappoints artists Grand design: President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo receives the "cultural strategy" document at the closing of the Indonesian Cultural Congress on Dec. 9, 2018. (JP/Donny Fernando)

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fter waiting for 35 years, artists and musicians rejoiced when the House of Representatives passed Law No. 5/2017 on cultural advancement on April 27, 2017.

The government first proposed the culture bill in 1982 with a seemingly narrow paradigm – protect local culture from foreign influences. In 2014, a draft of the bill faced controversy for including kretek (clove cigarettes) as Indonesia's cultural heritage.

An article on kretek was later dropped and the bill was improved, aiming not only to protect culture, but also to foster innovation.

Artists, both from contemporary and traditional scenes, warmly welcomed the enactment of the Cultural Advancement Law, which seeks to govern the registration of cultural property, the protection of manuscripts and works of art and incorporate art into the country’s development based on a policy framework called the “cultural strategy”.

However, Indonesian artists’ hopes slowly faded away after observing that the government made little progress in working toward any of these goals.

“When the law was passed I was overjoyed, but now I feel that [the law] doesn’t mean anything,” Kusen Alipah Hadi, the founder of nonprofit arts and cultural foundation Umar Kayam.

“It’s mostly political statements, such as [a promise] that there will be Rp 5 trillion (US$ 354.4 million) in trust funds,” he said, referring to President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s promise in December to finance cultural projects as stipulated in the “cultural strategy”.

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