Sunda or Pasundan province?

Sunda or Pasundan province?

From Pikiran Rakyat

This is my comment on Mr. Tjetje H. Padmadinata's statement and opinion (Pikiran Rakyat of Oct. 26) to change the name of the West Java Province into the Sunda or Pasundan province.

I think it is important that all interested parties are well informed of the fact that the aspiration to make that change is not a sudden desire or something arising solely from the desire to liven up the reform era toward a steady democracy but is one of the desires passed from generation to generation for the sake of self-respect and to maintain the "identity" of Ki Sunda under the protection of and as a pillar of Bhinneka Tunggal Ika (Unity in Diversity). It should be noted that Sunda is not Java.

The fact that the Sunda ethnic is the second biggest ethnic tribe in Indonesia has -- whether realized or not -- continued to gradually lose its existence, as if fading away. Therefore, it is feared that it will eventually disappear as a result of reform and pressure from outside. It now depends entirely on the "urang Sunda" (the Sundanese) whether or not this will come true.

After the silent disappearance of such names as Sunda Besar (the great Sunda), Sunda Kecil (the lesser Sunda), having been changed to other names, the question now is: will the other names that sound "Sunda" also be changed? What about the names of "Selat Sunda" (Sunda Strait), which unites the islands of Java and Sumatra, and "Sunda Kelapa", the famous and biggest harbor of its times? Will they also be changed?

HE HIDAYAT

Bandung