Betawi village is open to all religions, ethnic groups: Saidi

Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The controversy over the newly endorsed bylaw on the designation of Srengseng Sawah subdistrict in South Jakarta as an Islamic Betawi village may come to an end, as several Betawi figures have said it will not be exclusively for Muslim residents.

The Betawi people are not of the view that the inclusion of several Islamic terminologies in the bylaw would not mean that Srengseng Sawah will be closed to non-Muslim residents.

Representing Betawi community figures, noted historian Ridwan Saidi said on Sunday that the village would still be an inclusive area for people of any ethnicity or religion although there would also be an intensive effort to preserve Betawi culture.

"The bylaw has nothing to do with religion. But we should understand that if we are talking about Betawi culture, we cannot go far from the importance of mosques and musholla (prayer houses or rooms), the places where Betawi people get together," he told The Jakarta Post.

According to Ridwan, the wariness of certain parties over the proposed conversion of Srengseng Sawah into an exclusively Islamic village can be assuaged through gubernatorial decrees on the implementation of the bylaw.

"The decree should stipulate the protection of residents of all religions and ethnic groups in Srengseng Sawah," Saidi suggested.

The City Council endorsed the bylaw last Thursday which will soon take effect pending the signature of Governor Sutiyoso.

While not a single article in the bylaw explicitly calls for the establishment of an Islamic Betawi village, annotations on several articles implied that the councillors wanted the development of the area "to be adapted to Islamic Betawi culture".

For example, one appendix to Article 4 (1) of the bylaw says that the ruling was meant "to preserve and nurture awareness of local residents to embrace a way of life based on Betawi culture, including a community life deeply rooted in Islamic values, Betawi attire, works (of art) and handicrafts with Betawi characteristics and maintaining and performing Betawi arts".

Any violation of the new bylaw will mean a maximum sentence of six months in prison and/or a Rp 50 million (about US$5,400) fine.

Srengseng Sawah was chosen to be developed into a Betawi village after the administration failed to develop the vast area of 18,228 hectares in three subdistricts in Condet that were declared a Betawi village in 1974 by former Jakarta governor Ali Sadikin.

The 289-hectare area is currently inhabited by approximately 9,500 people from different religions and ethnic groups.

Of the seven factions in the council, however, only Golkar and the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) opposed the inclusion of Islamic terminology in the bylaw.

Sahrianta Tarigan of the Prosperous Peace Party (PDS), whose party is affiliated to the Golkar faction, argued that Betawi could not be identified as Islam because many Jakarta natives were Christians, Hindus or even Buddhists.

"Around 3,000 of my constituents in Tugu subdistrict in North Jakarta are non-Muslim Betawi. So it is not fair for them that we identify Betawi as Islam," he told the Post.

If the draft bylaw is approved by the governor, he added, Golkar would seek a guarantee that the city would protect the interests of non-Muslim residents from possible coercive measures to impose Betawi cultural values on every individual or community living in Srengseng Sawah.