TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Director General of Culture at the Ministry of Education and Culture, Hilmar Farid, revealed the reason why Megawati Soekarnoputri visited the National Museum after it caught fire. The fifth president of Indonesia made a visit when the museum in Central Jakarta was temporarily closed due to the process of artifacts evacuation on Tuesday, September 19, 2023.

Hilmar said Megawati's visit was motivated by the historical closeness between the latter and the museum. Megawati had volunteered to look after the collection in the 1980s.

“She felt very nostalgic, remembering back when she worked voluntarily without pay,” he said.

Megawati was accompanied by the Head of the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) Laksana Tri Handoko and the Minister of Education, Culture, Research and Technology Nadiem Makarim.

“She also instructed that the collections need to have their history traced and that the narrative should be made better to be used as a learning resource,” Hilmar added.

As the chairperson of the BRIN Steering Committee, Megawati also requested that BRIN experts be involved in the process of evacuating museum collections affected by the fire. “It’s agreed that additional staff would be needed to carry out the conservation of the affected collections.”

Hilmar also mentioned Megawati's attention to the ceramic collection. “Ceramics from various dynasties, such as from China and Vietnam,” he said.

Megawati also advised all parties to work together in handling this museum fire case.

“Ibu [Megawati] talked a lot about her past experiences, and I think this is an inspiration for us that now is the time to work together. In times of disaster and hardship, all elements must be involved. It is no longer permissible to look at certain interests and truly work for Indonesia,” Hilmar concluded.

SAVERO ARISTIA WIENANTO

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