Jakarta (ANTARA) - Chair of the Greater Jakarta Association of Indonesian Archaeologists (IAAI), Dyah Chitraria Liestyati, asked the National Museum to collect data on the fire-damaged artifacts so that appropriate handling can be carried out.
"We ask the management of the National Museum to conduct detailed data collection on the collections, artifacts, and the building that are impacted by the fire, so that real handling measures can be prepared," she said in a statement here on Sunday.
Liestyati also stated that the fire that broke out at the National Museum was an unprecedented and unwanted disaster.
It was reported that the fire engulfed Building A of the museum which is a showroom for ethnographic collection, prehistoric artifacts, cultural collections, and so on.
IAAI stated that the damaged collection objects are irreplaceable, both in terms of physical form and value.
She said that the National Museum stores a collection of selected Indonesian cultural treasures, some of which are even the only ones in the country.
She said that the preservation and safety of the museum collection is a matter of national identity and pride.
Liestyati also asked the government and the House of Representatives (DPR) to strive to issue the Law on Museum and the Indonesian Museum Agency so that museum management and protection can be implemented more comprehensively.
"We ask the government and DPR to appreciate the National Museum of Indonesia not only in terms of the building and its collections but also in terms of values contained in there," she emphasized.
According to her, the risk mitigation and security system of the National Museum must be guaranteed.
Learning from this incident, Liestyati invited all levels of society to care for and maintain the nation's cultural wealth that is stored in museums and cultural reserves.
She also supported an in-depth investigation into the cause of the fire that occurred on Saturday (September 16) evening.
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