PPP against review of disputed decree

JAKARTA: The Muslim-based United Development Party (PPP) faction of the House of Representatives has vowed to oppose any plan to revise the joint ministerial decree on the construction of places of worship, which certain non-Muslims have labeled as being discriminatory.

In a statement signed by faction leader Endin AJ Soefihara and secretary Lukman Hakiem, the faction said that any revision of the decree would disrupt religious and national harmony within the country.

"Demands for revision will endanger national unity and threaten the unitary state of Indonesia," it said, adding that the government should maintain the decree as it stands.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has asked the Minister of Religious Affairs to review the decree. The decree states that construction of a place of worship requires approval from people who live in its vicinity, which in practice has made it very difficult for minority non-Muslims to build their places of worship. -- Antara