Forgive and forget

Forgive and forget

From Republika

State Minister for Food and Horticulture, Prof. Dr. A.M.
Saefuddin's statement in connection with the next presidential
seat, particularly with respect to his attempt to compete with
Megawati Soekarnoputri, has triggered a lot of protests,
particularly from the Balinese Hindus. These protests have later
developed into nonsensical ideas such as "wishing to separate
from the Republic of Indonesia and establishing the Republic of
Free Bali." If the protests have been launched simply to remind
one of one's mistake, then they won't matter. However, if the
protests, which take the form of a threat of separation, are
intended by the initiators to seek support of separation, such
protests will be equivalent to a coup attempt and could not stand
to reason, as not all people in Bali are Hindus and the Republic
of Indonesia is not based on any particular religion.

As for the statement that Mr. Saefuddin has made, I believe
that it is more likely that Mr. Saefuddin, in accordance with the
religion he professes and the political line he adheres to as a
member of a certain political party, wishes to remind fellow
Moslems that in choosing a leader they must refer what has been
underlined in the Islamic teaching itself. The Koran in sura
Maida verse 55 gives a guideline on how to choose a leader. Allah
decrees, according to this verse, as follows: "As a matter of
fact your Guardian (leader) is Allah only. His Apostle and the
faithful establish ritual prayers and pay tithe on the last day
of the fasting month and submit themselves to Him."

So, the statement made by Mr. Saefuddin is more of a reminder
to Moslems inasmuch as a Moslem "is obliged" to remind his fellow
believers of the truth. In my opinion, Mr. Saefuddin may have
thought that in this reform era many things can make one forget
the teaching and guideline of one's own religion. The euphoria of
reform may have made Mr. Saefuddin neglectful of the way in which
to relay this reminder to his fellow believers. However, as a man
professing a religion he has clearly and openly tendered his
apology to parties who may have been offended by his statement.
As people professing a religion - be it Hinduism, Buddhism,
Catholicism or Protestantism, we have also been taught to forgive
one another. So, let's put a stop to this narrow-minded dispute
for the sake of a bigger interest of contributing to national
unity in our beloved republic.

FAISAL RY

Jakarta