Meeting in Bali,The Agency for the Preservation of Indonesia's
Cultural Artifacts (BPPI) has recommended that all the regencies
and cities of Indonesia take steps to protect their historical
buildings through the establishment of suitable provincial
regulations (perda). BPPI's recommendations come amidst the
continuing destruction of heritage buildings and sites in order
to accommodate economic interests. As a result, historical
values suffer and valuable records relating the human history of
Indonesia are lost. The head of BPPI, Hashim Djojohadikusumo,
told beritabali.com, that provincial governments are
increasingly allowing the destruction of historical building in
pursuit of higher tax bases. This is unfortunate, he said, given
the fact that if the same buildings were renovated and
maintained they would become tourism assets. "Don't just look at
the local tax base, but also consider the responsibility to
preserve our culture for our grandchildren," Hashim stressed.
According to BPPI, of the 478 regencies