Introducing Tolerance, 8 ASEAN Journalists Come to Prambanan Temple

The Journalist Friends of Indonesia program launched by the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Kemenlu) this year was attended by 8 journalists from several ASEAN countries and Timor Leste. During their approximately week in Indonesia, they were invited to visit several destinations in Jakarta, Yogyakarta, and Bali.

In Jakarta, foreign journalists visited the Asean Secretariat, and the Transcorp building, the Istiqlal Mosque, and the Cathedral. They also met with several officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs who explained about Asean's readiness, and Indonesia's role as the host of the G20.

Next, the participants flew to Yogyakarta. On the first day of their visit to Yogyakarta, Wednesday (14/9), they had the opportunity to have an audience with the General Chairman of Muhammadiyah Haedar Nashir, and the Governor of the Special Region of Yogyakarta Sri Sultan Hamengku Buwono X. The next day, the eight foreign journalists were invited to tour Borobudur and Prambanan Temples. Throughout the trip, they were accompanied by a local guide who told them many things about Yogyakarta. 

Met on the sidelines of a visit to Prambanan Temple, Thursday (15/9), the Director of Public Diplomacy of the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Yusron Bahaudin Ambary explained that this program aims to amplify the various advances that have been achieved by Indonesia, including its tourism. "Hopefully, participants can support the promotion of Indonesia in their countries," he said.

The implementation of the program is also in order to support Indonesia which at the end of this year will receive a mandate as the chairman of ASEAN for the next one-year period. "That is why we chose participants from ASEAN countries. Incidentally, there were seven countries that registered, namely journalists from Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, Laos, Vietnam, Myanmar, and Timor Leste," he added.

Meanwhile, in his welcoming speech, GM of Taman Wisata Candi (TWC) Prambanan Jamaludin Mawardi explained about the duties and functions of his agency and an overview of tourism activities at Prambanan Temple. When interviewed, Jamal welcomed the activity which could also be a means of campaigning for tolerance. 

"We want to convey a message about tolerance between diversity represented in Prambanan Temple. A concrete example is the existence of Sewu Temple which has Buddhist motifs among the Hindu Temple complex," he said.

One of the participants, Souksamai Boulom, said he was happy to be able to visit the temple destinations in Yogyakarta and Central Java. This was his second time visiting Borobudur after 2017. Although there were some rules that had changed, such as the prohibition on climbing to the 10th floor, the journalist from Laos said he was not discouraged.

There are many memorable things that he felt such as the friendliness of the residents, the expanse of green nature, and the uniqueness of the culture. "Sometime I want to come here again," he said.