TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Permit for Riau Islands church revoked over local fears 'it may turn into icon'
The construction of another Christian house of worship in Indonesia was abruptly halted after the Tanjungpinang administration in Riau Islands revoked the building permit (IMB) for the Bethel Church of Indonesia (GBI) My Home church last month
Change Size
T
he construction of another Christian house of worship in Indonesia was abruptly halted after the Tanjungpinang administration in Riau Islands revoked the building permit (IMB) for the Bethel Church of Indonesia (GBI) My Home church last month.
The move followed a claim by a local interfaith communication forum (FKUB) that the church had not met the requirements set by a controversial 2006 joint ministerial decree on places of worship.
GBI My Home pastor Baskoni Ginting said the congregation started preparing for construction in 2016 by informing the neighbors and surrounding communities about its plans to build a church at the D'Green City housing complex.
The joint ministerial decree requires a congregation to get 90 signatures from its members and another 60 from other locals before building a house of worship.
The church eventually obtained an IMB issued by the One-Stop Integrated Services (PTSP) Agency in 2018. However, the permit was only good for a year since Public Order Agency (Satpol PP) officers removed on Dec. 23 last year the IMB signpost located in the middle of the site, bringing the church's construction to a halt, Baskoni said.
"They said that there was a finding alluding that we had used ID cards of residents who disagreed with the construction, when in fact we had obtained 110 ID cards and the residents' signatures. We've done that since 2016, starting at the community and neighborhood level to the PTSP Agency until the IMB was issued. However, the permit was revoked," he said.
Baskoni added that the construction of GBI My Home was important as it would be used by about 1,200 registered congregants, who for now had to pray in an old church building located about 5 kilometers away from the new church.
He said that he was expecting a solution from Tanjungpinang Mayor Syahrul so that the construction of the church could continue without any further problems.
"We are longing for a win-win solution," Baskoni said, adding that the congregation had reported the case to Amnesty International Indonesia.
Tanjungpinang Capital Investment and PTSP Agency head Muhammad Ikhsan said that the permit was revoked because of maladministration.
He claimed that the construction of the church did not meet administrative and technical requirements. The technical requirements were previously submitted by the D'Green City developer, resulting in the permit being issued by the agency.
"However, the church users did not meet the requirements because a similar church was already built in the area,"
Ikhsan said.
He argued that supporting documents used to request an IMB had not been verified and that the request for a permit had been submitted by the housing complex developer instead of by a committee of the church.
Ikhsan emphasized that the IMB revocation was made on the recommendation of the FKUB Riau Islands by taking into account Article 22 of the 2006 joint ministerial decree. The article says that a governor must guide regents, mayors and concerned institutions in the regions in resolving conflicts over the construction of places of worship as referred to in Article 21.
Article 21 of the decree says that during such conflicts, a discussion must be held with residents in the area and should it fail to arrive at any conclusion, then the regents or mayors must help the city or regency's religious affairs agency resolve the conflicts fairly by taking into account recommendations from the FKUB. If no resolution is found, then the conflicts can be resolved through a local court.
FKUB Riau Islands head Ahars Sulaiman said the church had violated several requirements, including that it had not earned support from 70 percent of residents in the Muslim-majority area.
Ahars said the building would be built with five floors, while buildings around the church commonly only had three floors, prompting fears among the people that the building would turn into an "icon".
"Residents have given us input and that is that if the church will have five floors, then it will stand out and that they're worried it may turn into an icon. We've also worked to find irregularities in the previously issued IMB, so we requested that it be revoked," he said.(ars)
