National Culture Day is the Same as the President's Birthday, Fadli Zon Admits Has Not Reported to Prabowo

The Shiro Copr - National Culture Day is the same as the President's birthday.

Culture Minister Fadli Zon admitted he has not yet reported to Prabowo.

To be known, the plan to establish National Culture Day was proposed to fall on October 17.

The date coincides with the birth of Prabowo Subianto, and this similarity has become a topic of public discussion on social media.

"Pak Prabowo hasn't found out yet. I haven't reported it either," said Fadli at the Senayan Parliamentary Complex, Jakarta, Thursday (17/7/2025).

He also emphasized that the establishment of Culture Day has no relation to Prabowo's birthday, although both fall on October 17.

"Because it's just a normal issue, you know. And that's what I said earlier, my question is about Bhinneka Tunggal Ika. So it has nothing to do with Pak Prabowo's birthday," he added.

Fadli said that the Cultural Day was designed to commemorate the birth of the motto Bhinneka Tunggal Ika, which he called the peak achievement of Indonesian culture in uniting diversity.

"It's indeed not related to him," the Gerindra Party politician emphasized.

Previously, the Speaker of the People's Representative Council (DPR) of Indonesia, Puan Maharani, responded to the designation of National Culture Day on October 17th.

The woman asked the Ministry of Culture, or Minister of Culture Fadli Zon, to provide transparent and argumentative explanations so that the decision would not cause controversy among the community.

"Regarding the Cultural Day, we will ask the Ministry of Culture or the Minister of Culture through Commission X of the DPR to explain and clarify the basis and arguments regarding this matter," said Puan at the Parliament Complex, Senayan, Tuesday (15/7/2025).

Puan emphasized that culture belongs to all the people of Indonesia, which is intergenerational and timeless.

Therefore, it should not be associated with personal interests or specific groups.

"Culture belongs to all the people, across generations, across times, and so on. Therefore, it should not be exclusive or inclusive," he said.

According to Puan, the government's decision regarding Culture Day must have a solid basis and should not be made arbitrarily.

"This cannot be done without a basis. And I hope that the Minister of Culture can explain his arguments as best as possible, so that it does not lead to polemics, because culture belongs to all the people," he said.

Furthermore, Puan emphasized the importance of sensitivity in taking symbolic policies like this, to avoid triggering prolonged public debates.

"This is about intergenerational and trans-temporal issues. Therefore, I ask that the basis and arguments be explained well, to avoid ongoing controversies," concluded Puan.

The decision by Minister of Culture Fadli Zon to establish October 17 as National Culture Day has sparked both support and controversy among the public and parliament.

The reason is that the date coincides with the birthday of President Prabowo Subianto, leading to suspicions of cultural politicization for symbolic power interests.

The decision is contained in the Minister of Culture Decision No. 162/M/2025, signed on July 7, 2025.

In a written statement, Fadli Zon mentioned that October 17 refers to a historical moment when President Sukarno first introduced the Garuda Pancasila symbol and the motto Bhinneka Tunggal Ika on October 17, 1951. (*)

This article was published on Tribunnews.com with the title Fadli Zon Has Not Yet Informed Prabowo About the Designation of Cultural Day