Jakarta Globe, SP/Carlos Paath, Jun 18, 2014
Joko Widodo, if elected president, would remove the status of religion on identity cars, citing discrimination. (JG Photo/Dhana Kencana) |
Jakarta.
The campaign team of presidential candidate Joko Widodo said that Joko would
remove the designation of religion on the national identity card to prevent
discrimination if he were elected president.
“Jokowi has
told me that he agreed to do it for people’s welfare,” Musdah Mulia, member of
Joko’s campaign team, said, referring to the Jakarta governor by his nickname.
Musdah spoke during a discussion about the future of religious freedom and
minority groups in Indonesia on Wednesday.
According
to Musdah, Joko considered the faith status as leading to discrimination, such
as making it easier for a hardline group to conduct a religious sweep during a
conflict.
“Another
example is on job applications. A job seeker might be rejected just because the
religion is different with the boss. It’s discrimination,” Musdah said.
She said
that the faith status should only be recorded for the purpose of collecting
data on the population and for civil registry.
Home Affairs
Minister Gamawan Fauzi last year said that if it is considered wrong to include
the religion status on the ID card, known as the KTP, then legislators should
revise the law.
Gamawan
said that there are six religions acknowledged by the state. But there are some
Indonesians who are atheists or follow religious beliefs that aren’t among
those six.
“It’s OK if
you want to increase the number of religions to six or nine as long as it’s
stipulated under the law,” Gamawan said.
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