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‘Religious harmony’ versus ‘religious city’ draft bylaws in Depok
Neither the draft bylaw on religious harmony nor the one on a religious city, proposed by the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) faction at the city council and Depok Mayor Muhammad Idris, respectively, has been included in the bylaw legislation program (Propemrda) for 2020.
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The welcome gate at the border of Depok, West Java and Jakarta, located in Cinere Depok, in this July 30 photo. (JP/Adi Purnama Yulistiawan )
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he Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) faction on Depok city council in West Java has countered a draft “religious city” bylaw proposed by the mayor, which would, among other things, regulate how people should dress, with a proposal of its own.
Council speaker Hendrik Tangke Allo of the PDI-P said that his party opposed the draft religious city bylaw and instead offered a draft bylaw guaranteeing freedom of religion and religious harmony.
“The city administration should encourage interaction and dialogue between religious, ethnicities, races and other identity-based groups, to safeguard tolerance and harmony among religious followers,” Hendrik said recently.
He said Depok was a developing and multifaceted city, therefore it should protect religious freedom and tolerance.
“The PDI-P is pushing this bylaw not as an alternative to the religious city bylaw, but because we believe that residents must be able to pray according to their beliefs in a peaceful manner,” Hendrik said.
He said the PDI-P did not disagree with the content of the proposed religious bylaw per se, but felt that it had the potential to cause friction within society and encourage certain groups to take the law into their own hands.
He said the PDI-P was currently conducting studies of the draft bylaw before putting it up for discussion at the council.
