Proposal to Rename West Java to Tatar Sunda Awaits DPRD Leadership Decision
The proposal to rename West Java Province to Tatar Sunda has entered a new phase after all factions in the West Java Regional People’s Representative Council (DPRD) officially gave the green light to proceed with the legislative process. The agreement was reached during a hearing between Commission I of the DPRD and academics, cultural figures, and Sundanese historians in Bandung on Thursday. Further discussion will now await a decision from the DPRD leadership and the central government.
Commission I Chairman Rahmat Hidayat Djati explained that the next steps depend on the refinement of the academic paper and the leadership’s decision on whether to form a Special Committee (Pansus) or conduct an internal commission review. He noted that any regulatory adjustment to the province’s name must ultimately secure approval from the central government. The proposal, which had previously faded in 2013, 2015, and 2020, received unanimous support from all factions, including Demokrat, PKB, PKS, PAN, PDIP, Golkar, and PPP, with Gerindra and Nasdem also agreeing to follow the consensus.
Beyond the provincial name change, the council is pushing for stronger local identity in the naming of housing estates, tourist sites, buildings, and proposed new autonomous regions, urging the use of distinctive local names rather than generic compass directions. Professor Ganjar Kurnia from Padjadjaran University, part of the proposing team, emphasised the historical and cultural importance of the name Tatar Sunda, noting that the Sundanese cultural region historically stretched from Banten to Cipamali in Central Java. He dismissed concerns over administrative complications, citing the successful renaming of Ujung Pandang to Makassar as a precedent. The West Java provincial government has confirmed it is reviewing the academic study based on philosophical, sociological, economic, and juridical grounds and is awaiting further direction from regional leadership in accordance with national laws on regional governance.