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