State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi announced that the launch of Indonesia's new history book might be postponed. The initial launch was scheduled for August 2025.
"There is a possibility of postponement," Prasetyo said at the Presidential Palace complex in Jakarta on Tuesday, August 5, 2025.
The Gerindra Party politician did not provide a reason for the potential delay, only stating that a definite schedule has not yet been set. "Not yet, not yet," he said.
Previously, Minister of Culture Fadli Zon had aimed to complete the new version of Indonesia's history by August 2025, to coincide with the 80th anniversary of the Republic of Indonesia's Independence Day on August 17.
The House of Representatives (DPR) Speaker, Puan Maharani, urged the government not to rush the project of rewriting history. The granddaughter of President Sukarno called on the government to heed public protests.
"Let's not be in a hurry. Let's review the existing historical facts," Puan said at the parliament complex in Jakarta on Thursday, July 3, 2025.
In July 2025, the Civil Society Coalition Against Impunity interrupted a working meeting between Minister of Culture Fadli Zon and the DPR Commission X. The coalition stated that the interruption was a symbolic protest "against the whitewashing of history and also to condemn Fadli Zon's statement that the mass rape in 1998 was a rumor and had no evidence," said Jane Rosalina, who was met near the DPR Parliament complex on Wednesday, July 2, 2025.
Female activist Eva Sundari argued that the rewritten history tends to disregard the victims' perspective, particularly women's, by emphasizing the perpetrators' narrative. She raised concerns that this approach could contradict the values of Pancasila, Indonesia's ideology.
– Dede Leni Mardianti, Dian Rahma Fika, and Antara contributed to the report