Mon, 11 Nov 2002

Writing religion on an ID card

It is time for the Indonesian government to erase religion from any form of personal identification. Indonesia is supposed to be a democracy. When will the government truly value religion and make it mandatory not to have it written on the identity (KTP) card. Religion is only a spiritual matter and nobody should ever have easy access to such a personal piece of information.

Having religion stated on an ID card threatens the "purity" of one's spiritual belief, threatens personal security, advocates subjectivity (religious discrimination) and is hypocritical on the side of the government. An ID card must try to be as objective as possible. How can writing something as personal as a religion on an ID card be objective?

Religion it its purest form lives and breathes deep within the believer's soul, and not on a piece of paper issued by the state.. Why should anybody ever be forced to "show"/"prove" what his or her particular religious spiritual) belief is?

Religion is not to be used as a "weapon" for discrimination. In theory there are many other personal traits in which to be completely unbiased should actually not be stated on an ID card. Unfortunately, there would then be an issue of security to deal with if they were not. However, the one trait that has the strongest influence, and at the same time be most easily eliminated from one's personal identification, is just that: Religion.

FRANCESCO BRUNO, Mataram, Lombok