TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian Historical Transparency Alliance (AKSI) firmly rejects the government-initiated project to rewrite Indonesian history, claiming it is a state-sanctioned manipulative narration of the past.
The coalition voiced its rejection during a public hearing with House Commission X on Monday, May 19, 2025. AKSI chair Marzuki Darusman read out the rejection manifesto, emphasizing the dangers of a single interpretation of Indonesian history initiated by the Ministry of Cultural Affairs.
"We, from AKSI, hereby declare the rejection of the government's Indonesian 'official history' writing project by the Ministry of Cultural Affairs," Marzuki read out the manifesto in the parliament complex, Jakarta.
The alliance consists of various individuals with backgrounds in history, legal activism, human rights activism, and women's movement figures. They refer to the government's plan as a "massive project on the manipulation of the past" that positions the state as the sole holder of the nation's historical truth.
Why does the history rewriting project draw flak?
Below are the five main reasons AKSI rejects the project to rewrite Indonesian history:
1. Manipulative narration of the past
The government is seen as attempting to construct a single monumental version of history in the interests of those in power. The rewriting of history is considered a subtle way to shape public opinion and control the collective memory of the nation.
2. Instrument to legitimate political power
The alliance fears the project would be leveraged as a tool of power to determine the boundaries of citizens' thinking and freedom of expression. History, in this context, will then be used as a normative pretext to justify a certain political order.
3. A threat of historical totalitarianism
The AKSI manifesto states that the project paves the way for practices ranging from authoritarianism to totalitarianism, with history as an unchallengeable instrument of legitimacy.
"Totalitarianism is not an accumulation of authoritarianism; on the contrary, authoritarianism is not a form of moderate totalitarianism that can be thwarted through denial, and a series of verbal narratives by the government," said historian Imam Aziz from Nahdlatul Ulama.
4. Betrayal of democracy
AKSI's deputy chair, Sulistyowati Irianto, called the project a betrayal of the populist principle of democracy that has saved Indonesia from colonialism to authoritarianism.
According to Sulistyowati, the government is not the sole interpreter of history. Citizens have the right to voice their historical experiences.
5. Shrouding history
According to AKSI, a single narrative to history will shroud the truth and bring with it disaster. AKSI rejects any form of power intervention, no matter how small, in the process of recording history.
Adjustment to New Findings
The government, through Minister of Culture Fadli Zon, emphasized that the history rewriting project aims to align historical knowledge with various recent academic findings. The minister stresses that the project will be led by historians from various Indonesian universities.
"The process is underway, and the writers are historians," he said on May 5. Historians appointed by the government include Susanto Zuhdi, Singgih Tri Sulistiyono, and Jajat Burhanudin. Together with more than 100 academics, they are tasked with restructuring the narrative of Indonesian history from prehistoric times to the era of Reform.
The history rewriting project is targeted to be completed by August 17, 2025, coinciding with the 80th Independence Day of Indonesia. The new version of the history book is said to become the official reference for history education from elementary to high school.
Ervana Trikarinaputri and Ananda Ridho Sulistya contributed to this article.
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