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Head of the National Library of Indonesia's Center for Information and Manuscript Management Services, Agus Sutoyo when giving his remarks on the Seminar on Repatriation of Ancient Manuscripts: Restoring Identity, Preserving Heritage in Jakarta, Thursday (18/7/2024), (Photo : Perpusnas) - 

VOInews, Jakarta : Repatriation of manuscripts is not only interpreted as returning it but also as an effort to preserve the civilizational heritage of a nation. The National Library currently records a total of 121,545 ancient manuscripts, 82,158 of which are stored privately and in domestic documentary institutions. Of the remainder, there are still many manuscripts located abroad.

"The National Library prioritizes foreign cooperation for the repatriation of manuscripts," said Deputy for Development of Library Materials and Information Services at the National Library Mariana Ginting at the Seminar on Repatriation of Ancient Manuscripts: Restoring Identity, Preserving Heritage in Jakarta, Thursday (18/7/2024).

Mariana added that the law states that the National Library continues to strive to return ancient manuscripts that are abroad and preserve them.

Its status as a former colonial country makes it difficult for Indonesia to return ancient manuscripts that are abroad. Even though manuscripts have an important meaning for civilization.

"Ancient manuscripts can describe the past to be studied and explored," added the Head of the National Library of Indonesia's Center for Information and Manuscript Management Services, Agus Sutoyo.

Deputy for Human Development, Society and Culture of Bappenas, Amich Alhumami emphasized the state's commitment to repatriating manuscripts. Repatriation of ancient manuscripts is an important issue in human development and the development of cultural progress. In fact, this is one of the priorities on the cultural agenda in the 2025-2029 RPJMN.

"Those who are committed to ancient manuscripts are not only philologists. However, we need to map them first considering that repatriation requires systematic and sustainable efforts," explained Amich.

Meanwhile, the Chair of the Kejora Anak Negeri Foundation, Erwin Dimas, confirmed the fact that Indonesia has an abundance of ancient manuscripts but research has not been carried out optimally. For example, in the ancient manuscripts Abdul L-Fata, Taju L-Muluk, and the Book of Tuan Guru Sapat which contain information about health, medicine, social norms, and so on.

"This means there are challenges in identifying, preserving and utilizing the ancient manuscripts that we have," he said.

The rise in repatriation efforts carried out by many former colonial countries has encouraged a number of parties to establish repatriation institutions. In Indonesia itself, a new repatriation agency was formed in 2021, where one of its focuses is returning cultural heritage objects from abroad.

According to a release received by Voice of Indonesia on Thursday (18/07/24), in 2023, 472 artifacts and four Singosari statues were returned to the National Museum of Indonesia in Jakarta by the Dutch Government. These artifacts and statues were obtained by the Dutch during their colonization of Indonesia.

The return is carried out without conditions, thus opening up space for dialogue and research on these objects to reveal their origins while upholding historical justice.

"Repatriation is not only about returning manuscripts, but also returning parts of our identity that may have been forgotten. It requires appropriate strategies and stages that are not counterproductive to preserving manuscripts," said Professor of Philology at UIN Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta, Oman Fathurrahman.

Professor of the Faculty of Cultural Sciences from Lancang Kuning University, Junaidi, said that the manuscript repatriation process requires strong collaboration between the government, cultural institutions and the academic community both at home and abroad.

He said he was proud of the country's success in retrieving ancient manuscripts from abroad. Of course, this is not just to preserve and research but also to strengthen the nation's cultural identity. However, what is no less important is that this method can be an inspiration for other countries in their efforts to maintain their own cultural heritage.

Chairman of the Archipelago Writing Society (Manassa), Munawar Kholil, said that repatriating ancient manuscripts requires a long time and a strong database. Because when a manuscript is in the wrong hands, someone who doesn't know how to care for it, then that will definitely be a problem.

However, if the repatriation is successfully carried out and disseminated appropriately, then according to Ananta Hari Noorasetya the repatriation has succeeded in producing new literacy and becomes very important for expressing new things//VOI