"This contribution is certainly not perfect, but I think it is part of an effort to increase literacy in the world of wayang," he said at the book launch in Jakarta.
He added that the book's launch is also an effort to revive people's love for wayang, especially amid the challenges of the modern era.
The minister, who is also known as a wayang collector, said that he currently has around 7,500 wayang puppets and several collections of wayang cassettes in his personal collection, which have been registered in the Indonesian Record Museum (MURI).
He also highlighted foreigners' interest in wayang. The largest wayang collection in the world is now at Yale University in the US, the result of a grant from a German collector, Walter Angst, who has more than 13,130 wayang boxes, he noted.
This, according to him, is a challenge for the Indonesian people to better appreciate and preserve wayang as the nation's cultural heritage.
In addition, Zon emphasized the importance of collaboration across cultural actors to advance national culture.
According to him, both traditional art actors — such as those who perform wayang and dance — and contemporary artists need to be actively empowered to support the vision of Indonesian culture, based on the mandate of the law and the 1945 Constitution.
"We want cultural actors, both traditional, including wayang, keris, and traditional performing arts and others, to be involved in advancing our culture, in accordance with the mandate of the law and also the mandate of the 1945 Constitution," he said.
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Translator: Putri Hanifa, Cindy Frishanti Octavia
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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