DPR Will Fight For The Fate Of The HKI Church On UIII Land To The Ministry Of Religion

JAKARTA - Member of Commission VIII DPR from the PDI-P faction, My Esti Wijayati, stated that he would fight for the fate of the Indonesian Christian Huria Church (HKI) so that it could continue to stand on the land of the Indonesian International Islamic University (UIII).

This was conveyed by Esti in response to the news of the HKI Church in Depok, West Java, which was threatened with being evicted due to the UII development.

Esti emphasized that his party would propose to the Ministry of Religion (Kemenag) to provide UIII land that could be used for church buildings. Moreover, the HKI Church has been active 9 years ago and is still being used today.

"We must not tire of continuing to fight for the realization of Indonesia Raya with the singles Ika and seriously implementing Pancasila as the basis of the state," Esti said when contacted by VOI, Tuesday, May 7.

"Of course that is our suggestion of the PDI-P. Everything is possible, and good," he added.

According to Esti, the existence of the HKI and UIII Churches can be a tangible form of tolerance if both are built on the same land. Moreover, the land is in the management of the Ministry of Religion which means it is the authority of the central government.

"In order to continue to uphold the state constitution in granting freedom to worship according to their respective religions and beliefs, the Ministry of Religion (asks) to be able to clarify the existence of the church and the area of land that can be used for other supporting facilities," said Esti.

"We make it real, that we respect each other, we really create tolerance between religious communities anywhere in Indonesia and not just rhetoric or tolerance on paper," he added.

Esti also stated that he would immediately ask for clarity on the status of the HKI Church building on UIII land. "We will ask and convey this directly to Gus Men to emphasize this," he concluded.