T

he government has yet to pay serious attention to cultural issues, says Indonesian Theater Federation (FTI) president Radhar Panca Dahana.

'It's as though the government wishes to destroy culture judging by the small budget it sets aside for it,' said Radhar recently in his keynote speech at the 2013 FTI Awards presentation in Yogyakarta.

This year, FTI Awards recognized Gadjah Mada University (UGM) School of Culture artist and lecturer Bakdi Soemanto and Djarum Foundation president director Victor R. Hartono.

Bakdi is regarded as an academic who has contributed significantly to the development of theatrical arts, while Victor, through the Bakti Budaya Djarum Foundation, has dedicated himself to the arts, sports and education.

Radhar cited that the government had earmarked only around Rp 800 billion (US$65.54 million) for culture from the 2013 state budget out of the Rp 240 trillion earmark for education and culture.

'The attention given by the government to culture is very small, especially for theatrical arts,' said Radhar.

Such scant attention led the FTI, which was established on Dec. 27, 2004, to provide awards to people who have dedicated themselves to theatrical arts. This year, the FTI held the awards for the eighth time. Previous recipients included WS Rendra, Slamet Rahardjo Jarot, Nano Riantiarno, Putu Wijaya, Wisran Hadi and Saini KM.

'The awards are a tribute to people who have given their blood and sweat to the advancement of theater in Indonesia,' said Radhar.

He said Bakdi had played a major role in creating major theater artistes.

Bakdi earned a doctorate in literature at UGM in 2002. He conducted research on Waiting for Godot, a play by Samuel Becket, for his dissertation. In domestic theater circles, Bakdi is known as an artist who delves into plays with absurd story lines.

Bakdi said he was pleased to accept his award, seeing it as appreciation for his efforts.

'This award will spur my awareness to conduct further research to find out what is called Indonesian theater,' he said.

He questioned whether Indonesian theater was Teater Koma owned by Nano Riantiarno, or Teater Gandrik led by Butet Kartaredjasa, or whether stage plays from abroad staged locally in Indonesian could also be called Indonesian theater.

However, he said conducting theater research was very costly and there were many theater theories that had not been studied and applied in Indonesia.

He expressed regret that the government did not provide enough funds. Bakdi questioned whether the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) could provide funds for theatrical research because it had so far only provided funds for positivistic knowledge.

'Government attention to theatrical arts is very limited,' he said.