KBRN, Jakarta: Indonesia has added 85 new national-level cultural heritage sites, bringing the total to 313. While the increase marks progress, the government admits the figure remains far below the country’s vast historical and cultural wealth.

Minister of Culture Fadli Zon said the number is still “very small” compared to Indonesia’s extraordinary diversity.

“Our national cultural heritage sites should number in the thousands, not just the hundreds, even tens of thousands,” Minister Fadli said in Jakarta on Tuesday, December 16, 2025, as reported by Antara.

The government’s immediate focus is on the National Museum, which houses around 194,000 items. Officials estimate that at least 10 percent of the collection, about 19,000 artifacts, could qualify for national cultural heritage status.

Although many of these artifacts hold historical value and embody national identity, most have not yet been formally recognized. To address this, the government is considering forming a special team to curate and assess museum collections, beginning with the National Museum due to its size and significance.

The team is expected to accelerate the identification and designation process, ensuring valuable objects do not remain in a “grey zone” without legal protection.

Several regions have already demonstrated the feasibility of this process. Yogyakarta, for example, successfully proposed its museum statue collections, which have since been granted national cultural heritage status.

Attention is also turning to repatriated artifacts returned from abroad. Many of these items, now stored at the National Museum, have yet to be designated despite their strong historical and symbolic importance. 

The government stressed that future repatriated collections must be promptly assessed and recognized.

Officials emphasize that granting national cultural heritage status is not only a matter of state recognition but also a legal safeguard for protection, preservation, and utilization. With this status, artifacts gain stronger protection against damage, illegal removal, and the loss of historical value. ***