Nurfika Osman – Despite mounting criticism, the Ministry of National Education said on Friday that it would not recall a series of books on President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono circulated in schools in Central Java's Tegal district.
"The books have been reviewed by an independent team consisting of education experts and they have met all the necessary criteria," Fasli Djalal, the deputy education minister, told a press conference. "We don't have any right to recall something that has met the agreed standards."
The ministry has come under criticism after it was discovered that a series of 10 books on the president, produced using money from the state budget's Special Allotment Fund (DAK), had been distributed to 87 junior high schools in Tegal in December.
The books have titles such as "Getting Closer to SBY: Arranging Words, Composing Notes," "SBY: Long Journey to the Palace," "SBY: Window to the Heart" and "SBY: The Beauty of a Violence-Free Country."
Activists have said the books are inappropriate and "insensitive" as Yudhoyono is still in power, but Fasli brushed aside suggestions that there was a political motive behind them.
"The proper procedures were followed, the books are not illegal. I think we need to emphasize this," he said. Edy Purnomo, the head of Tegal's Education and Sports Agency, also denied any political motivations.
"We're not publishing the books because he is the president, but we want to introduce the students to Indonesian figures who are good and can be role models," he said.
Edy pointed out that they also circulated books on other important figures such as the country's first president, Sukarno, emancipation activist Raden Ajeng Kartini, Mohammad Hatta and Islamic figure KH Ahmad Dahlan.
Edy said that each school would only get a few copies, and Fasli added that they would be kept in the library. "This means we're not forcing the children to read books about SBY," Fasli said.
He said House of Representatives Commission X, overseeing education, had agreed on the use of DAK funds and showed reporters a copy of the agreement letter signed by the commission's head.
But Heri Akhmadi, deputy chairman of the commission from the opposition Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), told the Jakarta Globe that his party wanted the ministry to withdraw the books and to examine the publishing process.
Given the controversy, the Education Ministry's head of curriculum and books, Diah Haryanti, said they would evaluate the independent team that approved the books to prevent such things from happening again.