Font is never the point
What started as a presidential complaint about tiny font sizes has spiraled into an alarming, state-driven overhaul to rewrite Indonesian history.
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto's concern over small font sizes in school textbooks has sparked a controversial national overhaul. The issue began as a minor suggestion, but quickly escalated into a state-driven project to revise historical content in educational materials. Following a visit to several schools, the President declared that the font size was inadequate.
This remark led to a comprehensive review of textbooks from elementary to senior high school levels, aiming to align them with Southeast Asian counterparts such as Thailand, Malaysia, Brunei, Vietnam, and Cambodia. An interministerial team was established to manage the task, which promises more than just visual improvements. The initiative also intends to address nationalism and nationhood in the curriculum.
While acknowledging the need for better paper and typography, experts argue that significant content changes, driven by a presidential decree, are inappropriate. Critics claim that such swift actions, cloaked in vague nationalistic rhetoric, could lead to something more alarming. This textbook reform coincides with the release of a massive 8,000-page national history collection by the Culture Ministry, drafted by more than a hundred historians.
Written by urgent.news from The Jakarta Post's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
