December 17, 2025
JAKARTA – The recent “soft launch” of a contentious government-commissioned history book has drawn sharp criticism from historians and rights activists over its secrecy and perceived efforts to shape Indonesia’s historical narrative.
In a live-streamed event at the Culture Ministry’s office in Jakarta on Sunday, Culture Minister Fadli Zon unveiled the book, which was spearheaded by his office and compiled, written and edited over the past year with the involvement of more than 100 experts.
Titled Sejarah Indonesia: Dinamika Kebangsaan dalam Arus Global (Indonesian History: National Dynamics in Global Currents), the book spans nearly 8,000 pages across 10 volumes, covering the country’s history from the prehistoric era to the early year of President Prabowo Subianto’s administration.
“The book aims to enrich the public’s understanding of Indonesia’s journey up to the present day,” Fadli said. “Over the past two decades, numerous historical and archaeological studies have emerged, with new findings that are crucial for reconstructing the nation’s historical narrative.”
Previous major historical works, including Indonesia dalam Arus Sejarah (Indonesia in the Historical Current), published in 2011, only covered the country’s history up to the reform era.
The new book was initially slated for release on Aug. 17 to commemorate Indonesia’s 80th Independence Day, then postponed to Nov. 10 to coincide with National Heroes Day and later pushed back again to December amid backlash from a coalition of historians and activists who criticized it as an “official history” that whitewashes the past.
Critics have raised particular concern over the book’s omission of darker chapters, including the mass rapes during the May 1998 riots near the end of the New Order regime under former president Soeharto, who was recently named a national hero and is the former father-in-law of President Prabowo.
Controversy deepened after Fadli described the 1998 mass rapes as “rumors,” reinforcing the coalition’s view that the project could serve political interests tied to Prabowo and past regimes.
Fadli, however, emphasized during Sunday’s event that the book is intended only as “one of the references for preserving the nation’s collective memory, strengthening national identity and reinventing Indonesian identity.”
Lacking transparency
The book’s soft launch has been widely criticized for lacking transparency, raising questions over whether concerns from activists and historians have been adequately addressed.
Several historians in the coalition opposing the project, including Andi Achdian of the National University (UNAS) in Jakarta, said they were unable to see the final draft. Historian Asvi Warman Adam echoed this concern, questioning both the term “soft launch” and whether the book is actually finished.
“Are the books done or not? None of our friends in the coalition has ever heard of the final draft and how it finally came together. Everything is so secretive,” Asvi told The Jakarta Post on Monday.
Jajat Burhanuddin, one of the book’s general editors, told the Post that the final draft cannot be accessed publicly as it is still undergoing a “refinement process”, and that the official launch of the book will take place at an indefinite time next year.
He added that “only some small parts of the book” remain under revision and that criticisms from rights groups and historians have been largely addressed in the final draft.
“All of the criticism brought up has been accommodated, I assure you,” Jajat said. “In fact, some [ongoing] revisions also specifically target those issues.”
Minister Fadli did not immediately respond to the Post’s request for comment, but he previously indicated that further revised editions could be issued if needed.
“Maybe there will be a revised edition in a year or two,” he said Sunday, as quoted by Kompas. “This is the work of our historians, so if they feel that a [historical narrative] has not been included, [a revision] is entirely possible.”
However, rights activist Marzuki Darusman, who heads the coalition of activists and historians, said the continuous rewriting and lack of transparency have only added to confusion.
“It’s like [the government] is writing the history as they go along. There is no single, comprehensive vision,” he said on Monday.
Despite Fadli’s assertion that the book will not override other historical narratives, Marzuki remains concerned about the project’s nature.
“If the government wrote its version of history, that means it’s what they deem as official history; there’s no other way around it. That’s the problematic part,” he said. “Especially when the minister said that history can be Indonesia-centric. That’s wrong, history must be objective.”
In its official press release, the Culture Ministry said the book “emphasizes historical autonomy” and positions Indonesia as the central subject of history, reflecting Fadli’s long-standing interest in fringe theories about early human origins in the archipelago.