RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta - Indonesian Minister of Culture Fadli Zon received an audience with the Prajnaparamita Foundation, organizer of Siddharta The Musical and Guan Yin The Musical, at the Ministry of Culture building in Jakarta on Tuesday, March 10, 2026.

The meeting discussed plans for the Borobudur Symphony Festival, which will combine musical theater, traditional arts, and cultural collaborations from across Indonesia and Southeast Asia.

The Prajnaparamita Foundation has previously staged Siddharta The Musical in 2007 and again in 2024 in Jakarta, as well as Guan Yin The Musical in 2025, a production by Asia Musical Productions Malaysia. These performances were presented as cross-organizational Buddhist collaborations highlighting universal values.

Performance Coordinator Markus R.A. Prasetyo explained that the planned festival at Borobudur aims to create a cultural meeting space through performing arts that convey universal values. He said Borobudur is regarded as a symbol of collective pride with strong potential to unite local traditions and international-scale performing arts.

“We want to convey universal values and values of goodness through art, while simultaneously displaying the wealth of local culture on one stage at Borobudur,” he said.

Vice Coordinator of Siddharta The Musical, Tina A. Djakaria, outlined that the Borobudur Symphony Festival is designed with four guiding principles: Right Purpose, Right Target, Right Concept, and Right Budget.

She emphasized that the event is not simply a relocation of performances from Jakarta to Borobudur, but an effort to present Borobudur as a cultural meeting space involving multiple stakeholders.

The proposed concept includes three main elements: local wisdom from Borobudur and Magelang through the involvement of local dance studios performing routines inspired by Borobudur’s reliefs.

Nusantara diversity through appearances by ethnic musicians and artists from across Indonesia, and Southeast Asian cultural brotherhood through a performance of Siddharta The Musical by Asia Musical Productions Malaysia. “We want to present the harmony of Nusantara and Southeast Asian culture on one stage through the Borobudur Symphony Festival,” Tina said.

Minister Fadli Zon expressed appreciation for the initiative, noting that cultural performances at Borobudur can highlight both cultural and spiritual values. “We are very supportive of activities like Siddharta The Musical. Moreover, it has been performed very well in Jakarta previously,” he said.

He added that organizing events at Borobudur must comply with existing regulations, including sound systems, stage placement, and site management. “We are open to various cultural arts activities in Borobudur, as long as they are carried out through coordination with relevant parties and still pay attention to the principles of regional preservation,” he said.

The meeting was attended by Festival Committee Chair Sutina Irsan, Prajnaparamita Foundation Chair Andreas Sidharta, Deputy of the Indonesian Theravada Youth Association Demmy Sutjipto, and members of the Siddharta The Musical committee.

Accompanying the Minister were Expert Staff for Economic and Cultural Industry Anindita Kusuma Listya, Special Staff for Law and Intellectual Property B.R.A. Putri Woelan Sari, Director of Human Resources and Cultural Institutions Irini Dewi Wanti, and Director of Film, Music, and Arts Syaifullah Agam.

The meeting reaffirmed the Ministry of Culture’s commitment to encouraging the use of national cultural spaces as inclusive and collaborative platforms for artistic expression, while ensuring alignment with heritage preservation efforts. ***