Indonesia cheers Dutch return of artefacts, but fears of heists, preservation persist amid lax museum security

Looted statues, gems and jewels from Indonesia kept for over a century in former colonial ruler the Netherlands have arrived in Jakarta and are being catalogued at the city's National Museum, as experts express concerns over how the Southeast Asian nation will manage the deluge of artefacts given its limited museum infrastructure and history of heists.

The colonial-era spoils include the Lombok Treasury, an exquisite haul of 335 gems and jewellery pieces, 132 items from the Balinese Pita Maha collection, and four volcanic stone statues formerly installed in the Hindu Singasari temple in Malang, East Java.

The artefacts, returned under a deal timed with Indonesia's 78th independence anniversary, will be kept at Jakarta's National Museum, although the regions they originated from are lobbying for them back.

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"There are different grades of museums in Indonesia, but unfortunately the best ones tend to be in Jakarta," said Adrian Perkasa, Indonesian research fellow at the Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies (KITLV) and the NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies.

Indonesian museums, especially in the provinces, are ill-equipped to handle the relics arriving from the Netherlands, he said.

Of Indonesia's 430 museums, only 30 per cent are graded 'A' and equipped with security systems and facilities to house international-standard exhibits.

"I doubt the National Museum has enough space to house all the returning collections, so this moment must become a catalyst for upgrading our museum infrastructure in the regions," Perkasa said. "The relics could serve as agents of unity and national healing."

The disparity in museum infrastructure, he added, could result in the returned collections being enjoyed only by those in the capital city, at least for the foreseeable future.

Indonesia was a Dutch crown colony for nearly 150 years from 1800 and was known as the Dutch East Indies. It was exploited for its vast natural resources by colonial rulers and became a pivot for the global spice trade.

The Dutch long recognised Indonesia as winning its independence in 1949 after an armed struggle to eject the colonial government - rather than August 17 four years earlier as Jakarta celebrates.

Western nations have come under pressure to return the spoils of colonial rule recently.

The repatriation of Indonesia's heirlooms also comes as it's forecast to become between the fourth and seventh-largest economy in the world by 2030, a vast market of consumers far outstripping the Netherlands.

"This is a special boon for Indonesia as we celebrate our independence," said Hilmar Farid, director general at the Ministry of Culture, Education and Research, who signed the agreement on the artefacts' repatriation with the Dutch government in July last year.

Farid said his ministry had every intention of allowing the regions from which the items were originally taken benefit from their recovery, after Jakarta's National Museum had received and catalogued everything.

"A loan to regional museums, especially where the items originated from, is very much on the cards," he added.

But experts query the readiness of regional museums to handle the precious items - and ensure their safety once they have arrived.

"Take the Singasari statues carted off to the Netherlands more than a century ago," Perkasa said. "People in Malang want to see them back at the temple. But is the temple well-placed in terms of infrastructure to receive them, or would they be endangering the statues by placing them in situ?"

Indonesia also has a long history of museum thefts. Since 1961, 23 instances of museum theft have been recorded in Indonesia, including two breaches at the National Museum in 1961 and 1979, resulting in the loss of 11 historical diamonds, ancient coins and Chinese pottery.

In 2007, top-echelon staff at Solo's Museum Radya Pustaka plotted to steal six ancient statues by switching them with fakes while selling the original to a tycoon who later claimed he was unaware of having paid for ill-gotten relics.

The last-known museum heist took place in 2022 at the Museum Lapawawoi in South Sulawesi, where 95 per cent of the museum's collection was lost.

"As an art lover, I've been to museums here at home and overseas," said Marsha Siagian, a legislative candidate from the PSI Party, adding that her party was deeply concerned about the future of the repatriated objects.

"I'm afraid I have to say ours aren't there yet in terms of security standards. I'd hate to see any of them ending up as part of a private collection only enjoyed by the few."

Amsterdam-based Indonesian historian Joss Wibisono said that some segments of the Dutch press had also cast doubt on the wisdom of returning irreplaceable artefacts to Indonesia.

"The general mood was favourable, yet a few weren't convinced Indonesia would be able to look after them properly," he said, adding that Dutch media reported the hereditary King of Klungkung had professed his ignorance of the impending return of his ancestors' kris - a carefully shaped ceremonial dagger.

"It was implied the elite in Jakarta had failed to coordinate with parties central to the provenance of the objects," Wibisono added.

Indonesia's government has vowed to do its utmost to protect and preserve the hard-fought-for national heirlooms after their return so that future generations can benefit from them.

"We've set in motion cooperation schemes with the Dutch museums where they were previously housed, to enhance our own expertise in caring for these objects," Farid said. "This was always part of the plan."

This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (SCMP).

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