Provincial Leadership Responds to Proposal to Rename West Java to Tatar Sunda

West Java Deputy Governor Erwan Setiawan has spoken out regarding the discourse on changing the province’s name to Tatar Sunda, after the proposing group held an audience with Commission I of the West Java Regional People’s Representative Council (DPRD) some time ago. Amidst support from a number of cultural figures, the proposal has also drawn criticism from various circles. Those criticising the name change proposal mostly come from various levels of society, cultural activists in the Pantura region, and groups who believe the government should focus more on resolving economic, education, environmental, and infrastructure issues. Responding to the polemic, Erwan chose not to provide a direct assessment. He emphasised that the matter is still in the process stage and is the authority of West Java Governor Dedi Mulyadi. According to Erwan, the entire discussion process should be respected without being addressed excessively. “I leave it entirely to the Governor, because indeed the Governor holds the policy,” Erwan said at the West Java DPRD Building on Tuesday (7/7). Erwan said the public also needs to be given space to convey their views on the proposal. He noted that to date, the name change of West Java Province is still a discourse that is in process and has not yet become an official decision. “Yes, let’s just go through the process. Please let the public assess for themselves the responses, and also this is still a process,” he said. Therefore, he invited all parties to follow the ongoing stages without causing excessive polemic. Erwan also stressed that he did not want to make statements that exceeded his authority as deputy governor. “So we don’t need to respond too excessively. Yes, we’ll just follow it. That is entirely up to the Governor,” he said. “I cannot provide responses that exceed my capacity as deputy,” Erwan continued. Previously, the discourse on changing the name of West Java Province to Tatar Sunda entered a new chapter after all factions in the West Java DPRD officially gave the green light to proceed with this proposal to the next legislative stage on Thursday (2/7). The green light was given during an audience between Commission I of the West Java DPRD and a number of academics, cultural figures, and Sundanese historians after previously fading in 2013, 2015, and 2020. “The Democrat, PKB, PKS, PAN, PDIP, Golkar, and PPP factions stated their agreement to proceed to the next legislative stage for the name change of West Java Province. Gerindra and Nasdem earlier stated they would go along,” said Chairman of Commission I of the West Java DPRD, Rahmat Hidayat Djati, after leading the meeting. Rahmat explained that the proposal to change the province’s name had actually been discussed in several meetings. However, it was only on this occasion that all faction representatives were fully present and officially conveyed their political stance. Padjadjaran University (Unpad) Professor and member of the proposing review team, Ganjar Kurnia, asserted that the name change to Tatar Sunda holds deep historical, sociological, cultural, and psychological value to save the Sundanese identity, which is increasingly marginalised by an administrative approach. Based on historical records, the Tatar Sunda region once stretched from Banten, through Jakarta, to Cipamali (the Tegal area) on the border of Central Java. “In the past, Jakarta was administratively part of the Sunda region. Banten was also a Sunda region, and history shows that Tatar Sunda stretched from Banten to Cipamali, part of Central Java,” said Ganjar. Ganjar dismissed concerns about administrative complications or the potential for other regions to secede. He cited the successful name change from Ujung Pandang to Makassar as a bureaucratically common occurrence.