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rotests mount from residents arguing plan contravenes local customs

The North Sumatra administration recently announced a plan to initiate halal tourism around Lake Toba in Samosir regency in a bid to attract more Muslim tourists from neighboring Malaysia and Brunei Darussalam.

However, the plan has received a less-than-favorable reception as some members of the public argue that such a concept would contravene local customs in the regency, which is a predominantly Christian area.

North Sumatra Governor Edy Rahmayadi said last week that the administration would soon promote halal tourism to lure an influx of Muslim visitors from neighboring countries. The plan, he said, would also entail a policy regarding food vendors that sold pork-based food.

North Sumatra administration general assistant M. Fitriyus said the governor’s plan was never intended as an attempt at "Islamization". The administration would issue an official clarification to prevent misinformation among the public, he said.

“People are acting as if the North Sumatra administration wanted to eradicate local traditions and cultures by initiating halal tourism. This is simply false; we never intended to Islamize Lake Toba. We simply aim to increase the number of tourist amenities that specifically cater to international Muslim visitors,” Fitriyus told the press on Saturday.

He went on to say that halal services and facilities such as halal restaurants and houses of prayer were essential to accommodate the needs of Muslim tourists. He said the administration would strive to maximize tourism potential in the region by catering to Muslim visitors from neighboring countries.

“The fact of the matter is, we’ve seen a steady increase in Muslim tourists visiting Lake Toba over the years. It’s only logical that the administration fully commits to halal tourism [around Lake Toba],” Fitriyus added.

North Sumatra Culture and Tourism Agency head Ria Novida Telaumbanua said establishing and improving tourist facilities was vital to bolster local tourism. There are three core elements of tourism that need to be fulfilled, namely attraction, accessibility and amenities, she said.

Lake Toba already fulfills the attraction element, as it boasts a unique natural panorama and cultural significance, Ria said. Accessibility, too, has already improved since the local administration allocated funding to the improvement of several facilities and infrastructure that accommodate public access to Lake Toba, she added.

She said the administration was in the process of building a toll road that would connect Tebing Tinggi and Sirapat, therefore providing tourists with better access to Lake Toba. Furthermore, Silangit International Airport also had its runway extended to accommodate the arrival of large commercial aircraft, she added.

However, Ria said the area still lacked amenities to complement the natural vista on display. The administration would soon add more amenities around Lake Toba in an effort to make the tourist experience more enjoyable for both domestic and international visitors, she said.

“Supporting facilities and amenities must be immediately established around Lake Toba. The government considers Lake Toba to be among the top national destinations; we must not let the tourists down,” Ria said.

However, local people have responded negatively to the plan, with some saying that establishing Lake Toba as an exclusively Muslim destination would rob the area of its distinctive allure.

Johannes Marbun of the Lake Toba Lovers Community decried the administration’s halal tourism concept, saying that it would diminish the uniqueness inherent to the area.

Meanwhile, Samosir Regent Rapidin Simbolon said he would never want to implement any halal tourism concept in the regency, especially around Lake Toba. He said he would promptly reject such a proposal, adding that residents of Samosir should be in charge of deciding what was best for their own land. Initiating halal tourism, he argued, would directly violate the state ideology of Pancasila, which espouses unity amid diversity.

According to Statistics Indonesia's 2016 data, about 57 percent of Samosir population are Protestants and 41 percent are Catholic.

“The very notion of halal tourism contravenes local cultures and traditions. Samosir is for Indonesia; Samosir is also for the world. We need to preserve its cultural significance,” Rapidin said.

Amid the hullabaloo, a poster for the Lake Toba Pork Festival has circulated on social media. The event, which will take place from Oct. 25 to 26, is set to feature a pork-based culinary competition, selfies with pigs and a pig stall-cleaning competition, among other things, according to the poster. (rfa)