House Deputy Speaker Responds to Proposal to Rename West Java to Tatar Sunda

Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives (DPR) Cucun Ahmad Syamsurizal has spoken out regarding the proposal to rename West Java as Tatar Sunda, which is now said to have received the green light from the provincial legislature (DPRD).

Cucun asked the West Java DPRD and the provincial government to focus on developing the region.

“In my view, the focus should instead be on how development is carried out in each province,” Cucun said at the parliamentary complex on Thursday (9/7).

The PKB politician said he had heard the proposal put forward by the West Java DPRD. However, so far he considers the proposal to have sparked pros and cons among the public.

Cucun expressed hope that both the executive and legislative branches in West Java would focus on their work. However, if the idea is to be pushed forward, he asked that it be communicated clearly to the public.

Nevertheless, Cucun believes that so far the proposal remains merely an idea.

“If there are certain aims behind changing the province’s name, the public messaging must be clear,” he said.

The proposal to rename West Java Province as Sunda Province or Tatar Sunda continues to circulate. Most recently, Commission I of the West Java DPRD held another working meeting with the community group behind the proposal. The meeting produced a number of important points regarding the plan to change the province’s name.

Rahmat Hidayat Djati, Chair of Commission I of the West Java DPRD, said the working meeting yielded several recommendations, one of which was a follow-up to the proposal submitted by the community studying the name change.

However, West Java Governor Dedi Mulyadi has made clear that the provincial government will not carry out any name change. According to him, changing the name to Tatar Sunda is nothing but a fabrication.

“We affirm that there are those throwing out this idea and making up stories on social media that West Java will be renamed Tatar Sunda. I say the entire narrative is someone else’s invention. The West Java Provincial Government will stay focused on working and will not deal with a name change. Its name remains West Java,” Dedi said on his Instagram account.