West Java Speaker Clarifies Proposal to Rename Province to Tatar Sunda Has Not Been Approved
The Chairman of the West Java Regional House of Representatives (DPRD), Buky Wibawa, has clarified that many members of the public have misunderstood the council’s stance following a working meeting between Commission I of the DPRD and the coordinators supporting the proposal to change the name of West Java Province.
Buky emphasised that the DPRD has not yet approved changing the name of West Java Province to Tatar Sunda or Sunda; rather, they have only agreed that the aspiration should be discussed through the applicable mechanisms.
“Many are perceiving that the DPRD agrees. In my view, we have not reached that level. Agreement, in this context, means agreeing to discuss it, not agreeing to the change. That is where the misunderstanding lies. People think, ‘Oh, the DPRD agrees to the change,’ which is why it has become a heated topic,” Buky stated on Monday.
According to Buky, the current position of the DPRD is limited to performing its institutional function of receiving and discussing public aspirations.
“The position is that the DPRD agrees to discuss the aspirations presented by several figures or elements of society regarding the desire to change the name of West Java Province,” said the Gerindra politician.
He further emphasised that the discussion of the proposal is still in its early stages. Buky noted that the journey for this proposal remains very long; even if it eventually receives approval at the level of the DPRD and the West Java Provincial Government, the final decision rests with the central government.
He also refuted the assumption linking the recent ‘Milangkala Tatar Sunda’ celebrations, held by the West Java Provincial Government across several cities and regencies, to the discourse on changing the province’s name.
“It does not mean that the Governor’s recent celebrations of Milangkala Tatar Sunda overlap with a desire to change the name of West Java to Tatar Sunda; I do not believe there is any connection,” he added.
Regarding the sociological aspects and messages from Cirebon, Buky expressed appreciation for the intentions of the figures proposing the name change, as they are based on a spirit of preserving Sundanese identity and history.
“I respect the desire of these figures to propose a name change based on historical aspects. However, if there are historical, psychological, and sociological aspects involved, the most important thing to resolve is the sociological aspect to prevent horizontal conflict,” Buky said.
He noted that while the desire of some members of the community to revive Sundanese identity is respectable, it must consider the current social reality of West Java, which is increasingly diverse.
According to Buky, the sociological aspect represents the greatest challenge if the discourse continues, as West Java is a province inhabited by various cultural and ethnic groups. Local ethnicities in West Java include not only Sundanese but also Betawi, Cirebon, Indramayu, and Javanese, among others.
“What is the sociological problem? It must be resolved with the people of Cirebon, and with the Betawi-Sundanese communities. Sociologically, that is the most difficult part, in my opinion,” he revealed.
He admitted to receiving various responses from the public, including figures from Cirebon who linked the name-change discourse to the desire to form new autonomous regions.
“I have received WhatsApp messages from figures in Cirebon, for example, saying, ‘We agree to the change of West Java Province’s name, and in line with that, we also wish to establish the Cirebon Raya Province. We strongly support the name Tatar Sunda, but alongside that, we also have the desire to become our own province, Cirebon,’” he said.
“Now, this has become a polemic,” Buky concluded.