Baduy people demand Sunda Wiwitan acknowledged as religion

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Tue, 11/29/2011 9:58 PM

The Baduy people in Lebak subdistrict, Banten, have called on the government to acknowledge their religion, Sunda Wiwitan, by allowing them to put it on their ID cards.

“We hope that the government will acknowledge our religion, Sunda Wiwitan,” Baduy community leader Dainah said on Monday as quoted by kompas.com.

Indonesia only acknowledges six religions: Islam, Protestantism, Catholicism, Hinduism, Buddhism and Confucianism.

Dainah said that the Baduy community members were disappointed when the Lebak administration did not allow them to put Sunda Religion on their ID cards, saying that it would be illegal.

“We are also Indonesians. We should have the same rights as other Indonesians,” he said.

According to Dainah, the government once allowed them to put their religion on ID cards from 1972 to 2010. Since then, Baduy people had been leaving the religion column on their ID cards empty.

Of 2,830 Baduy families only a few had ID cards because of the inconvenience, Dainah said.

Dainah said that 130 people had processed ID cards this year, up from 20 people last year.

He said most Baduy people, who clung to traditional and tribal values, thought ID cards were unimportant.

AGO denies that Gayus demand was weak

Mariel Grazella, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Sat, 01/22/2011 8:39 AM | National

The Attorney General's Office denies that the conviction it demanded judges hand down to tax graft convict Gayus H. Tambunan was weak.

"I don't understand why some say that the conviction demand was poor," Attorney General Basrief Arief said.

He added that all four articles that the prosecutors had accused Gayus of violating were proven in court.

"Gayus was proven guilty by the judges on all four accounts," he said.

He added that he appreciated the judges' decision but would push forward for an appeal.

Although judges found Gayus guilty on four accounts by prosecutors, judges convicted Gayus to seven out of the 20 years' imprisonment demanded by prosecutors.

E. Java villagers block access to oil well, demand repairs

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Mon, 01/17/2011 10:37 AM | Archipelago

East Java villagers have blocked the access to the Sukowati oil well site in Bojonegoro where oil pipes would be installed by state oil company Pertamina and Petrochina.

“We will continue to block access to the well until they repair the 1.8-kilometer road to our village,” resident coordinator Sutikno of Sambiroto Village, Kapas District, said Monday.

The Joint Operating Body of Pertamina-Petrochina, East Java (PPEJ) plans to install distribution pipes from the field at the Sukowati oil well in Campurejo village, Kota District, to the Mudi filed in Rayahu village, Soko District, passing through Sambiroto Village.

The project is scheduled to begin on Jan. 27. The pipes that would be installed in Sambiroto Village are around 250 meters long.