Church Building In Purwakarta Sealed, Regent: To Maintain A Conducive Atmosphere

The sealing of unlicensed buildings is misused for places of worship in Purwakarta. (ANTARA)

PURWAKARTA - The Regency Government (Pemkab) of Purwakarta, West Java, has sealed a church building that does not yet have a permit, in Cigelam Village, Babakancikaao District, Purwakarta.

"We are grateful that the steps to seal the building can be taken in the spirit of togetherness to maintain a conducive atmosphere in Purwakarta. All parties involved are very wise," said Purwakarta Regent Anne Ratna Mustika, quoted by ANTARA, Sunday, April 2.

He said the closure of the building was temporary until all licensing processes were met, such as proof of building approval (PBG) and a function-worthy certificate (SLF).

According to him, the misuse of unlicensed buildings for places of worship violates the Joint Regulation of the Minister of Religion and the Minister of Home Affairs Number 9 and Number 8 of 2006 regarding the establishment of houses of worship or the title of SKB 2 Minister.

The Regent hopes that the closure or sealing of the building is not misunderstood or deliberately misinterpreted, because what is closed is not a place of worship, but an unauthorized building.

"So what we seal are unauthorized buildings that are abused. The building violates local government permits and violates the Joint Regulation of the Minister of Religion and Minister of Home Affairs Number 9 and Number 8 of 2006," he said.

The building was misused by a number of members of the congregation of the Protestant Christian Church Simalungun Purwakarta which had been going on for about two years.

The closure of the building was the result of an agreement by the Purwakarta Regency Government Coordination Meeting, the Regional Leadership Coordination Forum, the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), the Ministry of Religion Office, the Religious Harmony Forum (FKUB), the Purwakarta Church-Church Cooperation Agency (BKSG) and representatives of the congregation of the Protestant Christian Church Simalungun.

The decision to close unlicensed buildings that were misused into places of worship was made to avoid social unrest that had started to emerge.

According to the Head of the Purwakarta Ministry of Religion Office, Sopian, the congregation who carried out worship activities in the building admitted that they did not have permits, both from the local environment and from the government regarding houses of worship.

Sopian said that if it violates the SKB 2 Ministerial Regulation regarding the establishment of houses of worship, then while activities must be stopped to avoid misunderstandings and trigger horizontal conflicts among the community.

Even so, he said, his party had prepared solutions and recommendations so that the congregation could still carry out their worship.

"We suggest that they can worship other churches whose permits have been fulfilled," he said.

In this regard, the Regent of Purwakarta also said that the Regency Government together with the local Ministry of Religion would help coordinate with other churches so that the congregation of the Protestant Simalungun Christian Church could still worship well.

In Purwakarta, there are 19 churches that the congregation of the Protestant Christian Church Simalungun can use for worship, including three churches in the same sub-district as the location of the illegal buildings that the congregation has been using, namely in Babakancikaao District.

"We will help coordinate so that they can worship in these churches. We will protect their right as citizens to worship according to their religion and protect them. That is in accordance with the constitutional mandate," said Anne Ratna Mustika.