West Java set to have anniversary to celebrate<\/p>\n
Yuli Tri Suwarni, The Jakarta Post, Bandung<\/p>\n
The West Java political elite has been uneasy due to the absence
\nof a major provincial anniversary celebration, which it
\nconsidered had something to do with the low participation of
\nordinary people in the provincial development program.<\/p>\n
Eka Santosa, chairman of the West Java provincial legislative
\ncouncil, said not only religious and informal leaders but also
\nlocal authorities had been uneasy as, unlike other provinces,
\nWest Java had no provincial anniversary to celebrate.<\/p>\n
"We have no anniversary to celebrate to maintain our unity,
\nboth emotionally and culturally, and this has long since made the
\npeople less proactive in their participation in local development
\nprograms," he said in a seminar here on Monday to identify the
\nprovince's anniversary.<\/p>\n
Besides, he added, policymakers in the province had no clearly
\nidentified moment at which to reflect upon and evaluate their
\nperformance in implementing the development program.<\/p>\n
"If the province had its own anniversary to celebrate, it
\nwould have been a good moment for the local political elite to
\nevaluate its performance annually," he said.<\/p>\n
Husein Jachjasaputra, assistant to the governor for
\nadministration affairs, conceded that the provincial
\nadministration had once proposed celebrating its anniversary to
\nthe central government. However, the latter turned it down,
\nfearing that the province, which had hosted a number of
\ninternational events, including the 1955 non-aligned movement
\nconference, was trapped by its own parochial interests.<\/p>\n
"We should bear in mind that West Java, especially Bandung,
\nhas a strategic position to support the Indonesian capital of
\nJakarta in political and security matters," he said.<\/p>\n
Achmad Mansyur, a historian from the Padjadjaran University in
\nthe city, proposed Aug. 19 as the province's anniversary, as the
\nformer steering committee for Indonesian independence (PPKI) had
\nestablished West Java (Lesser Sunda), along with six other
\nprovinces, as part of Indonesia's territory two days after
\nIndonesian independence had been declared on Aug. 17, 1945.<\/p>\n
The other six provinces were Central Java, East Java,
\nKalimantan, Sumatra, Sulawesi and Maluku.<\/p>\n
He added that West Java province originally included Jakarta
\nand Banten, the latter of which was declared a separate province
\nlast year.<\/p>\n
Edi S. Ekadjati, an expert in Sundanese history, said that
\nWest Java province had been established during the Dutch colonial
\nera when the Dutch ruler issued Staatsblad) (Decree) No. 378 on
\nAug. 14, 1925, which stipulated that West Java, Central Java and
\nEast Java were autonomous provinces.<\/p>\n
"This historical event should be taken into consideration in
\ndetermining the province's anniversary," he said.<\/p>\n
Husein said the province's history would be considered in
\ndesigning a bylaw on the province's anniversary before a draft
\nwas proposed to the provincial legislature for endorsement.<\/p>\n
"The provincial administration wants the province to celebrate
\nits anniversary for the first time in 2002 to strengthen the
\nemotional and cultural ties of local people to a local movement
\nin order to speed up the development program in all fields," he
\nsaid.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/west-java-set-to-have-anniversary-to-celebrate-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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