T

he Padang municipal legislative council, West Sumatra, is planning to discuss an objection by the Chinese-Indonesian community in the city against a bylaw on cemetery fees they deem excessive.

At the end of May this year, the Padang chapter of the Indonesian Chinese Community Forum (FKMTI) filed a plea for the mayor and the council to revise Article 2 of Padang City Bylaw No. 11/2011.

Padang legislative council'€™s deputy speaker, Asrizal, said he would schedule a consultative meeting with the mayor regarding the plea.

'€œHowever, it will be scheduled after Idul Fitri, as our agenda is full during the Ramadan fasting month,'€ Asrizal told The Jakarta Post on Thursday. Asrizal said the meeting would discuss the regulation that sets the amounts of cemetery fees, especially on whether or not the fees for additional land remains feasible.

'€œIf it requires revision, the Padang municipality should submit it to the legislative council, then we will discuss it at the council and form a special committee that will later study the issue before seeking a solution,'€ said Asrizal.

He added that despite being a minority the Chinese-Indonesians were nevertheless Padang city residents and their concerns must be heeded and a solution sought.

'€œI'€™m not yet aware of the issue. When Bylaw No. 11/2011 was deliberated, I was also a councilor, but at that time it was discussed by a special committee that I did not join,'€ he said.

'€œThe letter to request a revision that we received three weeks ago failed to describe the issue in detail, so we must discuss the matter with the municipality and the Chinese-Indonesian community,'€ he added.

Padang FKMTI head Valentinus Gunawan said his organization handed the revision-request letter to the mayor and the council on May 26. The letter stated that the majority of the members of the Chinese community in the region could no longer afford to pay for graves as the prices had increased by up to 600 percent.

The Chinese community must now pay Rp 2.62 million (about US$200) for two years for a grave measuring three by four meters, whereas the previous rent was only RP 400,000 for four years.

The fees for a four-by-seven-meter grave is Rp 6.25 million or two years, compared to Rp 976,000 for four years earlier and a six-by-10 meter grave is charged Rp 14.6 million for two years, compared to only Rp 2.12 million for two years previously.

'€œThe regulation has been very burdensome ever since it was put to effect in 2012. The Chinese community had never been involved during the discussion and had not been informed about it,'€ Valentinus told the Post.

Padang Legal Aid Institute head Era Purnama Sari urged the council to immediately provide mediation and seek a solution for the issue. The council, Era said, must hear the opinions of both sides (the Chinese community and the city administration) to find common ground.

'€œA short-term solution is very important to prevent the issue from being politicized, considering that ethnic issues are easily spread everywhere. A bylaw revision at the Supreme Court is also essential to seek a long-term solution, because it will take a long time,'€ said Era.