Faith Believers Have the Right to the Same Service

KOMPAS/RINI KUSTIASIH

Dozens of people from various religions and native faiths in West Java and areas outside Java, celebrate Seren Taun on 22 Rayagung in the Sundanese calendar, Wednesday (7/11). The tradition of the agrarian society symbolizes gratitude to God for the abundant harvest in the previous year. Through the seren taun ceremony, residents hope that the next year\'s harvest will be even better.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — Like other Indonesian citizens, believers of different faiths have the right to receive services from the government. The two things they are now starting to accept are the issuance of citizenry documents and belief education services.

The director general of Population and Civil Registration at the Home Ministry, Zudan Arif Fakhrulloh, said believers of faiths had received services for biodata recording and issuance of population identification number (NIK), family cards (KK), e-IDs, and marriage registration. In the e-ID, the religion section is replaced with faith, alongside the wording “Faith in God The Almighty”. The same applies for the family cards.

Zudan disclosed that there were four conditions on the faith believers in the population database. The four of them are the fact that they have not been recorded and have never been recorded; have been recorded in the population database; only recorded as embracing one religion; and have been registered but have changed their beliefs by embracing one religion.

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He said the population and civil registration (Dukcapil) office is wide open to the entire community. “Please, active faith believers go to Dukcapil to process their documents. If there is any access problem, we will deal with it," said Zudan, Wednesday (2/6/2021), in Jakarta.

Education service

Previously, the Education, Culture, Research and Technology Ministry also issued Ministerial Regulation Number 27 of 2016 on Education Services for Faith in God in Education Units. The regulation serves as a legal umbrella for the implementation of learning for students who are faith believers in schools.

KOMPAS/GREGORIUS MAGNUS FINESSO

Children and youth who are followers of Ugamo Malim or known as the Parmalim, dance a tortor in the Bale Pasogit courtyard, the Parmalim worship center in Huta Tinggi Village, Laguboti District, Toba Samosir Regency, North Sumatra, Friday (20/2/2015). The activity was held on the sidelines of the Sipaha Sada celebration, commemorating the New Year of the Batak calendar as well as commemorating the birth of the ancestors of the Parmalim people.

The students get faith education services through teachers called faith extension workers. In 2021, the number of faith educators in schools and studios is 145 people. They serve 2,868 students spread over 15 provinces.

"The number will increase in line with the need. We are also preparing to establish a Faith in God Study Program that can produce education graduates to fulfill faith education teachers according to their competencies through the Education Fund Management Institute (LPDP) scholarship program in 2021," said Sjamsul Hadi, the director of Faith in God and Native People, the directorate general of Culture, the Education and Culture, Research and Technology Ministry.

Maintain tolerance

A number of regions have also developed special programs to enforce tolerance and provide equal services to all citizens. The suicide bombing at the Makassar Cathedral, at the end of March, for example, became a reminding alarm for the Makassar City Government to promote tolerance again in society.

“There are 178 children whose parents were detained by the Densus (National Police’s Densus 88 counterterrorism squad) and now we are taking care of them. We accommodate them, and we will educate them. These children are victims. We will try to get them to lead normal lives and instill a lesson in tolerance. They are the responsibility of the government," said Makassar Mayor M Ramdhan Pomanto.

These children are victims. We will try to get them to lead normal lives and instill a lesson in tolerance. They are the responsibility of the government.

Deradicalization efforts are also carried out by the Malang City Government by strengthening interfaith communication through the Interfaith Harmony Forum (FKAUB), the Rector\'s Forum, the Indonesian Mosque Council, as well as Nahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah.

According to Malang Mayor Sutiaji, Malang City is frequently associated with cases of radicalism and terrorism. Therefore, his office cooperates with many parties to prevent this from happening again.

KOMPAS/RINI KUSTIASIH

Dozens of dancers performed Buyung Dance in front of the Paseban Tri Panca Tunggal courtyard, Cigugur District, Kuningan Regency, Tuesday (6/10), at the peak of the Seren Taun event held by Sundanese Wiwitan followers.

Like in Malang, the Bogor City Government also collaborates with the FKUB, Interfaith Social Affairs Agency, youth and religious communities, Asia Foundation, Paramadina, Komnas HAM, Setara Institute, and others. This dialogue space becomes a bridge to convey the message of togetherness, diversity, and tolerance so that it reaches the grassroots. Bogor Mayor Bima Arya did not hesitate to enter the houses of worship during major religious celebrations.

“Respect for other faiths can be done without reducing our faith. So, today we should reduce, even eliminate, the debate about speech, visits, and so on. We should have gone through that because the nation\'s founders and great figures have given and shown an extraordinary message regarding unity," said Bima.

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> Pancasila in Application

In the 2020 Tolerant City Index held by the Setara Institute, Salatiga got the highest score (6,717), followed by Singkawang (6,450) and Manado (6,200).

“The people of Salatiga City can accept differences. So, not only the government, but also the community. Everyone is involved, both the community and the government. Also supported by community leaders, TNI-Polri (Indonesian Military and National Police), NGOs, all must be involved, also in building Salatiga City," said Salatiga Mayor Yulianto.

An observer of extremism issues from Brawijaya University, Yusli Effendi, said the early detection of radical groups could be done by campaigning for positive narratives and respecting diversity. ( DIT/ REN/ ELN/ DIA/PDS/GIO)

This article was translated by Hyginus Hardoyo.