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Government regulates renaming of geographical features to preserve history
The new regulation enables coordination across government agencies and ministries in renaming a wide variety of geographical features, from natural landmarks to man-made features and monuments.
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Fort Marlborough in Bengkulu province, built between 1713-1719 by the British East India Company, centuries before Indonesia's national awakening. (Shutterstock/sofirinaja)
A
recently issued regulation will allow for the renaming of Indonesian natural landmarks and man-made features in a bid to preserve the nation’s history, traditions and cultural heritage, as well as maintaining sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Under Government Regulation (PP) No. 2/2021 on the application of topographic names, the state is now able to coordinate name changes with geographical features such as islands, mountains, seas, rivers and lakes, as well as underwater features and public monuments. President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo signed the regulation on Jan. 6.
Features under review would be renamed either in the Indonesian language or in an indigenous or foreign language, depending on their historical significance. This task is given to the Geospatial Information Agency (BIG), in coordination with relevant ministries and state agencies.
The regulation assumes the importance of inserting topographic names or toponyms onto maps of Indonesia to ensure national security and sovereignty are preserved.
“Names are closely linked to a nation’s core [existence], as they carry [within them] identity, sovereignty, independence, culture and so forth,” said the head of BIG’s Topography Mapping and Toponym Center, Ade Komara Mulyana, in a statement to The Jakarta Post on Thursday.
As such, Ade said it was important that the government ensured consistency and accuracy in providing toponyms for natural, cultural and even man-made features.
The official said that it was part of the government’s efforts to improve the quality and efficiency of geographical names, in accordance with recommendations from the United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names.
