Abstract

The recollection of ancient manuscripts has been through long and challenging processes since Indonesia gained its independence. There have been different views about repatriating ancient manuscripts in Western countries and the countries of origin from which manuscripts were obtained, while these different views present difficulties when no good faith between the two parties is involved. This research aims to investigate the challenges faced by museums in the Netherlands, and the methods of coping with the issue of ancient manuscripts in Indonesia to allow for maximum access to help improve the national identity. This research shows that Indonesia and Netherlands had successful projects together, both physical cultural object’s repatriation and digitalized manuscript’s cooperation. However, the success of repatriating the manuscripts seems far-fetched. Following the outbreak of the Covid 19, the number of visitors to the museums in the Netherlands has shrunk, followed by financial problems and outcries over justice and moral violations expressed by the state of origin. Therefore, regulations aiming to cope with the problems are paramount by repatriating the ancient manuscripts of Indonesia housed in the Netherlands, improving collaborations in digitization and access to ancient manuscripts, education, and research, improving museum programs, and empowering visitors in accessing ancient manuscripts.

Concepts :

Access to Document

Citations by Year