In a statement received here on Thursday, the ministry's director general for cultural affairs, Hilmar Farid, said that Indonesia can learn from South Korea, as within 25 years, the East Asian country has managed to push national development by utilizing its cultural wealth.
According to Farid, if South Korea has managed to do that with its homogenous ethnicity and linguistics, then Indonesia, which has more than 1,100 ethnicities and 680 languages, can promote its culture as iconically as South Korea.
Undoubtedly, South Korea's culture is renowned globally, he noted. However, he said he is confident that the wealth of Indonesia's cultural assets could help achieve similar results in terms of national transformation.
"What's not least important is consistency. Even though their government (faced challenges), culture, as their basic (priority), still goes on. This is what Indonesia has yet to show," he added.
At the beginning of his term, President Joko Widodo stressed that culture is the very DNA of Indonesians, the director general recalled. He cited the President as saying that if the nation develops its culture, then there will be no need to chase after developed countries for national betterment.
Hence, his administration has pursued some measures to develop national cultural assets to support national empowerment, for instance, by establishing Law Number 5 of 2017 on Cultural Development, which serves as the basis for sustainable protection, development, and use of Indonesian cultural wealth.
It has also established the Indonesian Heritage Agency (IHA), which takes part in ensuring optimal preservation and use of national cultural heritage.
Farid said he believes that if those measures are continued, then in five years, Indonesia's culture could become not just an identity, but also a social, political, and economic asset that pushes the nation toward betterment.
In the same statement, Duke of Mangkunegara X said that culture has a significant impact on national development. Hence, he urged the youth to acknowledge its potential and develop it so that Indonesia can compete globally.
"Often, we see that neighbor's grass is greener. Maybe that's because they take care of it. Now is time for us to see where we stand, and start to take care of our 'grass,'" he added.
He said that with great care, it would not be impossible to derive greater benefits from assets compared to others.
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Reporter: Mecca Yumna Ning Prisie
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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