Subj: Indonesia: Controversial education bill is passed.

INDONESIA PASSES CONTROVERSIAL EDUCATION BILL

On Wednesday evening, 11 June 2003, the Indonesian parliament passed the controversial National Education System Bill that will replace the 1989 Law on Education System. The bill has divided the nation, with many Muslims supporting the bill, while minority Christian groups and secular Muslim organizations (including Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), the largest Muslim organization in Indonesia), oppose it. Vice President Hamzah Haz is a strong and public supporter of the bill, while former-president Abdurrahman Wahid, has spoken out strongly and publicly against it.

Article 13 (1) of the Education Bill will require schools with ten or more students of any particular faith, to employ religious education teachers of those faiths, so that students in all schools (state and private) may receive religious education in their own faith from a teacher of that faith. While Christians do not generally send their children to Islamic schools (hence Islamic schools are unlikely to be effected), many Muslims chose to send their children to Christian schools due to their superior educational standards. They chose do this in spite of the fact that Christian schools teach the Christian faith.

According to an article in the Straits Times, “Some Muslim politicians have been worried by the teaching of Christianity to Muslim students in Christian schools. They have found that many have converted to Christianity.” (Link 1)

This concern seemed to resonate with thousands of Muslims campaigning for the bill outside Indonesia’s parliament on Tuesday – one popular banner reading – “Save the religious community from apostasy.” Another demonstrator voiced his opinion: “I think those who oppose the Bill are missionaries because many Muslims go to Christian schools and they want to teach Christianity to them.” (Link 2)

After the bill pass passed on Wednesday evening, the Straits Times reported that, “education experts have expressed concerns that the Bill has been drafted with a strong political agenda,” and quoted PDI-P secretary general Pramono Anung who said, “The issue is no longer about education, it is just politics.” (Link 3)

This claim was confirmed by Golkar legislator Baharuddin Aritonang who admitted to the Jakarta Post (12 June) that the debate on the education bill could not be separated from the vested interests of the parties ahead of the 2004 elections. He said political parties, including Golkar, agreed to endorse or reject the bill to win the hearts of constituents or lure votes ahead of the 2004 elections.

HOW THE BILL PASSED

The Bill has been debated since October 2001. It was scheduled for a vote on 20 May 2003, but the vote was postponed due to the controversy and discontent it had aroused. The vote was re-scheduled for Tuesday 10 June.

On 10 June, while the parliament debated and lobbied, more than 10,000 Islamic activists protested outside urging legislators to pass the education bill. According to the Jakarta Post (11 June), “those against the bill, mostly Christian groups, refrained from staging a rival rally at the House, apparently to avoid a clash.”

Inside the parliament the bill was so hotly debated and contested that the plenary meeting had to be adjourned at 10 p.m, until Wednesday at 7.30 p.m.

The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan, or PDI-P) and the Indonesian Nationhood (KKI) strongly opposed the bill. However, as they hold only 165 of the 500 seats, they were in the minority.

The PDI Perjuangan chairwoman, Megawati Soekarnoputri, demanded a delay in the bill’s endorsement pending the further dissemination of information to the public, or the bill’s revision should this prove necessary. MPs signed an agreement to delay the endorsement of the bill until 17 June.

The Jakarta Post (11 June) quoted PDI Perjuangan legislator Noviantika Nasution as saying on Tuesday, “The chairwoman wants the bill to be accepted by everybody based upon a consensus.” The PDI Perjuangan deputy secretary Pramono Anung said the party viewed the bill as having the potential to spark unrest.

On Wednesday evening 11 June the controversial education bill was voted on and passed. The PDI-P boycotted the meeting.

WHAT NOW?

The Straits Times reported on Thursday 12 June, that PDI Perjuangan said it would stick to the previous agreement signed by representatives of all factions to delay the endorsement until June 17 in order to give the House time to disseminate information on the bill to the public.

If the Bill takes effect, tens of thousands of Islamic religious teachers will have to be recruited for employment in private Christian schools across the country. Many Christian schools are saying they will ignore the bill.

The Jakarta post reported back in March, that in order to come to a compromise, all the factions on the working committee and from the government agreed not to impose any legal punishment for schools that failed to comply with the article.

The working committee’s chairman, Anwar Arifin, said on Sunday 30 March 2002, “We have received enormous pressure from two separate groups — one demands the article be maintained with punishment for schools that violate it, while the other demands the article be dropped. All factions finally agreed to maintain the article, as it is in line with the amended 1945 Constitution, but we leave the monitoring of the article to the public as part of social control and punishment.” (Jakarta Post 31 March 2003)

– Elizabeth Kendal

Links

1) Indonesia’s education Bill opens Pandora’s box By Aris Ananta and Evi Nurvidya Arifin For The Straits Times 11 June 2003 http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/commentary/story/0,4386,193875,00.h tml

2) 10,000 rally for revamp of religious teaching in Indonesia The Straits Times 11 June 2003 http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/asia/story/0,4386,194062,00.html

3) RELIGIOUS EDUCATION IN INDONESIA Parliament okays controversial Bill By Devi Asmarani 12 June 2003 http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/asia/story/0,4386,194264,00.html

See also: Indonesia’s religious schools row By Jill McGivering, BBC’s Asia analyst, 12 June 2003 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/2984270.stm

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