Jakarta. Presidential hopeful Prabowo Subianto is planning to set up an endowment fund meant to better preserve Indonesia’s culture should he win the election, although the candidate did not say how much state money would likely be allocated for this program.

Prabowo announced his plans when he took his final debate stage in Jakarta on Sunday evening. The panelist earlier had asked Prabowo his thoughts on Indonesia’s cultural sector being distorted by commercialization and government intervention. According to Prabowo, the endowment fund will focus on supporting what he calls “cultural practitioners”, which usually includes artists and performers. 

“We will lose our identity as a nation if we are not proud of our culture and fail to respect and preserve it. … We plan on setting up an endowment fund to support all cultural practitioners across all fields,” Prabowo said.

Prabowo did not go into more detail on the endowment fund. However, he then went on to list Indonesia’s culture that needs preserving such as the traditional shadow puppet wayang, the Indonesian martial arts pencak silat, and many more. 

Rival Ganjar Pranowo then commented on Prabowo’s statement, saying that what the government needed to do was to simply facilitate artists to express themselves. Contender Anies Baswedan unveiled his plans to establish a ministry of culture if he becomes president. Indonesia today has one ministry that focuses on dealing with matters related to education, research, and culture all at the same time. 

“Their comments make sense. I can accept them. We must provide space for initiatives, innovations, and creativity, but what is clear is that the government should not hesitate to protect cultural sites, museums, and the sultanate’s palaces many of which are on the verge of collapsing. These palaces are our cultural and historic heritage,” Prabowo said.

“I do agree [on the cultural ministry]. If I become president, I will think of it. I will take in any good suggestions from wherever they come from,” Prabowo said.

Prabowo had talked of the endowment fund for the cultural sector in his manifesto. He intends to increase government spending for research and preservation of cultural sites, including by establishing an endowment fund, according to the manifesto. The document lays out plans to give new life to cultural sites and old buildings so Indonesian youth can better learn about the country’s traditional values. 

Indonesia today already has endowment funds, although they focus on education. The fund, better known as LPDP, has granted scholarships for many Indonesians to study abroad. LPDP money mostly comes from the state budget, but they also have other sources such as investment returns, research, and royalties on patent rights. The LPDP funding has reached approximately Rp 139 trillion (about $8.8 billion). 

Not long ago, the government revealed they would also launch endowment funds aimed at promoting tourism later this year. The first phase of the tourism fund will entirely come from the state budget. The government plans to put LPDP --the institution that manages the education fund-- in charge of the tourism fund.

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