Red Bull lambasted for unlicensed filming at Indonesia's Borobudur temple

 

BKB head Marsis Sutopo said the video was shot at the world heritage Borobudur temple without the permission of the Education and Culture Ministry.

“Engaging in parkour at Borobudur temple is absolutely not recommended as it could damage the stone formation and the temple’s structure. It fails, moreover, to show respect for the sacred building,” Marsis said. 

The advertisement was published on Red Bull’s Facebook account on Friday.

The 1-minute-23-second video shows Latvian parkour athlete Pavel Petkuns (Pasha), winner of the 2011 and 2012 Red Bull Art of Motion championships, skirting the balustrade of the temple and climbing up the stupa. 

BKB posted on Red Bull’s Facebook account a complaint about the video, unleashing a tide of outrage from netizens. 

In response, Red Bull explained that the commercial had been made spontaneously when Petkuns visited Borobudur. 

“While one of our athletes was visiting Borobudur, at the spur of the moment we videoed him without permission from the appropriate authorities. We acknowledge that this should not have happened and we have done all we can to have this video removed from all media,” Red Bull wrote.

The commercial has been removed, though not before garnering 18,023 views.

Marsis said the act had violated Article 66 (1) of Law No 11/2010 on cultural heritage, which prohibits people from damaging a cultural legacy, whether partially or entirely.

He had, he said, prepared strategies to prevent similar incidents in the future. “We will tighten surveillance in order to preserve Borobudur temple as a cultural legacy and a sacred place,” Marsis said.

BKB utilisation and community service coordinator Panggah Ardiansyah said the footage might have been taken in the morning, at around 6am, during a changeover in security guards, adding that the matter was still being investigated.

Visitors can only enter Borobudur in the morning by purchasing tickets from the Manohara Hotel, which is located in the temple’s compound.

“To see the sunrise at Borobudur, people have to buy tickets from Manohara Hotel. But we don’t keep any records,” Panggah said.

The head of the Borobudur Temple Tourist Park (TWCB) unit, Chrisna Murti Adiningrum, said she had not received any request regarding the filming of the advertisement, adding that Red Bull or the athlete should also have applied to the Culture and Education Ministry’s directorate general of culture.