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The Jakarta Post
Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Editorial

Borobudur, No Wonder

This newspaper ran interesting articles about two of the
country’s priceless but neglected heritage sites in its Sunday
and Monday editions: Lake Toba and Borobudur Temple.

Indonesia has failed to reap much benefit from these treasures
because of ignorance and an unwillingness to preserve the sites.
We can blame no one but ourselves for this failure to preserve
and promote the country’s heritage for the betterment of the
people.

The first report, on the Sunday Post’s Travel page, described
the vast volcanic Lake Toba in North Sumatra. The lake is
believed to be the result of largest volcanic eruption more than
840.000 years ago. Few Indonesians, even among the Batak tribes
living around the lake, know about the violent birth of Toba.

Local residents and tourist industry people only complain about
the declining number of foreign visitors to the area because of
its geographical handicaps, poor infrastructure and the lack of
tourist attractions. With better knowledge of the lake’s
history, it would be easier to attract tourists by packaging the
history of the lake.

The National Geographic television station has in the past aired
a wonderful program about the eruption. After watching this
program most people would find it ridiculous that more people
visit Singapore’s Night Safari — which offers only animals from
other countries — than Lake Toba.

The story that appeared Monday is even more concerning for
Indonesia, because in it we learn that Borobudur Temple, the
pride of the nation, does not appear on the new list of the
Seven Wonders of the World.

When asked about Borobudur, most — if not all — Indonesians
will repeat the old, but incorrect, conviction that the temple
belongs to the Seven Wonders of the World.

Since childhood Indonesians have been taught that the world’s
largest Buddhist temple is included among the world’s seven
wonders, although the claim is not supported by documented
evidence.

Indonesian officials quickly played down the new list of the
world’s wonders, arguing that the United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) was not involved
in drawing up the list. They probably forget that 100 million
people across the globe voluntarily participated in the voting,
just like the American Idol process.

A private Swiss foundation on Sunday announced the results of
the poll, where 100 million Internet and phone voters chose
seven out of 21 short-listed sites, from an original list of 77.
Borobudur did not even make the top 21.

According to Unesco’s list of 851 world heritage sites, just
seven are in Indonesia, including Borobudur Temple in Central
Java and the Sangiran’s early man site in East Java.

Other countries, like Brazil and Peru, have been much more
active in promoting their historic sites and natural assets,
realizing this is one of the most effective ways to attract
visitors, and their money, to the country.

Many jealous Indonesians may say Borobudur is more deserving of
the honor than India’s Taj Mahal or the statue of Christ
overlooking Rio de Janeiro. Whether or not this is true,
Indonesia has not done enough to draw the world’s attention to
its attractions.

As in North Sumatra, the local government in Central Java has
complained that visitor numbers to Borobudur have continued to
decline despite efforts to provide more commercial facilities
around the Borobudur compound.

Tourists are reluctant to visit Lake Toba because of its
distance from Medan, and also because, unlike culturally rich
Bali, tourists can only enjoy the beauty of nature. There are no
attractive cultural programs on offer for visitors.

Visitors to Borobudur Temple are often annoyed by the presence
of overzealous vendors. The government apparently believes the
temple alone is more than enough to bring in tourists, so no
extra effort is needed.

Borobudur is our cultural pride and Lake Toba is the crown of
our natural riches. But pride alone is not enough when the
nation fails to compete with other countries in attracting
tourists.