West Sumatra Ministry Of Religion: It's Not True That Minang People Are Intolerant, We Have Evidence

Head of the TU Division of the West Sumatra Ministry of Religion, Irwan. (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - An official from the Ministry of Religion for the West Sumatra region said that the Minang people are known to be tolerant in the life of the nation and state.

"It is not true that there is a view that views the Minang people as intolerant. We have evidence that the Minang people are tolerant. If someone says the people of West Sumatra are intolerant, it is not correct," said Head of the TU Kemenag West Sumatra Irwan in Padang, quoted by Antara, Tuesday. February 1st.

He said this at the West Sumatra Dialogue Program with the theme Strengthening Religious Tolerance in the midst of the Omicron outbreak. According to him, the first reason the Minang people are so tolerant is that almost all over the world there are Minang people, even on the smallest island there are Minang people and there are Padang restaurants.

"Wherever they are they are accepted and have a place, if the Minang people are not tolerant, it will be difficult to accept and difficult to get a place," he said.

Then, in West Sumatra, place names and regional names are derived from tribal names from outside regions.

"We have areas called Kampung Jawa, Kampuang Kaliang, Kampung China, this proves the Minang people are tolerant, as evidenced by people from outside West Sumatra getting a place here," he said.

Furthermore, in terms of religious life, there is no other religion that does not have a place in West Sumatra, including people of different races.

"We didn't even hear about physical clashes, bullying and so on. According to the Minang philosophy, the custom of the syara' base, the syara' base of the book of Allah,” he said.

He conveyed that the Minang people are used to tolerance and accepting differences and these characteristics must be maintained continuously, to ensure the integrity of the life of the nation and state.

To support it, he continued, the Ministry of Religion has also strengthened religious moderation towards the year of tolerance 2022. West Sumatra is one of the pilot projects and examples of good tolerance for life for Indonesia.

"In 2021 the Ministry of Religion of West Sumatra has held focused group discussions with religious leaders, community leaders, leaders of religious organizations and community organizations related to this year of tolerance," he said.

In line with this, the member of Commission V of the West Sumatra DPRD, Mochlasin, said that the Minang community is open. This council member from East Java is also proud and appreciates the life of the people in West Sumatra.

He assessed that the characteristics of Minang residents are good at making friends and good at making friends so that there is no segregational attitude so they can be successful overseas.

On the other hand, he views the Minang community as open. In judging something, the standard is objective and refers to the values of honesty, sportsmanship, capacity, integrity and so on.