In The Aftermath Of The Women's Paskibraka Hijab Case, Cak Imin Urges The Head Of BPIP To Be Removed

JAKARTA - PKB Chairman Muhaimin Iskandar (Cak Imin) urged the Head of the Pancasila Ideology Development Agency (BPIP) Yudian Wahyudi to be removed from his position. This is in the aftermath of the issue of the release of the hijab women's Heritage Flag Raising Troop (Paskibraka).

According to Cak Imin, this request for the release of the headscarf violates the values of diversity and can interfere with national unity.

"We must be upright in our Bhinneka Tunggal Ika. I demand that the head of BPIP must go down and be replaced for improper behavior and interfere with the sense of justice and unity," said Cak Imin at the PKB DPP office, Central Jakarta, Thursday, August 15.

Cak Imin also offered the position of Head of BPIP to be replaced by PKB cadres. He claimed that his party cadres could carry out the task of leading BPIP without violating the constitution.

"Agreed, yes? Therefore, justice and the constitution must be absolute. If necessary, the PKB of its cadres is ready to lead BPIP as well as possible, if necessary," continued the Deputy Speaker of the DPR RI.

On the one hand, Cak Imin emphasized that everyone has the same rights in expressing according to their religion and beliefs. BPIP, according to him, cannot enforce the will of the interpretation of Bhinneka Tunggal Ika.

"How come there is a ban on the headscarf in Paskibraka? After being complained about throughout Indonesia, the answer is volunteerism. If there are superiors and subordinates, that volunteerism will definitely not happen," he said.

The incident of releasing the women's Paskibraka headscarf during the inauguration at the State Palace of IKN on Tuesday, August 13, drew criticism from many parties, one of which was Purna Paskibraka Indonesia (PPI).

PPI General Chairperson Gouta Feriza previously emphasized that this was contrary to the values of Pancasila, especially the precepts of God Almighty.

He explained that the women's Paskibraka members came from various ethnicities, cultures, and religions. During the training process, they are allowed to wear the hijab according to their respective beliefs. However, at the time of inauguration they were forced to release the hijab.

In previous years, Paskibraka members were allowed to wear the hijab in the inauguration and flag-raising ceremonies on August 17.

However, BPIP decided to uniform Paskibraka's clothing and appearance in 2024, as stated in the Circular of Deputy for Training Number 1 of 2024.

In the circular, there is no choice to dress hijab for Paskibraka members who use the hijab.

Meanwhile, Head of the Pancasila Ideology Development Agency (BPIP) Yudian Wahyudi explained that the release of the hijab of a number of members of the 2024 Heritage Flag Raising Troops (Paskibraka) aims to raise the values of uniformity in raising the flag.

"Because from the beginning Paskibraka was a uniform," said Yudian when giving a press statement at the National Police Residential, the capital city of Nusantara, East Kalimantan, Wednesday, August 14.

Later, Head of the Presidential Secretariat (Kasetpres) Heru Budi Hartono ensured that all women's Paskibraka wearing hijab would still wear the hijab during the RI Anniversary ceremony.