IDs engender discrimination
resident Joko "Jokowi" Widodo raised much hope shortly after his term began when the government allowed citizens to leave blank the religion space on their identity cards. The policy followed the high expectations of Jokowi's presidential campaign, during which he championed human rights.
Home MinisterTjahjo Kumolo added later that citizens could list indigenous faiths if they wished, bringing a sense of relief that the government would recognize the country's diversity ofbeliefs despite the official recognition of only six religions. However, the new policy merely reaffirmed the discrimination against minorityfaiths, when citizens who had left their religion space blank or filled it with a native faith faced discrimination from authorities and prospective employers.
This has led representatives of four indigenous faiths to file a judicial review request at the Constitutional Court on the 2006 Population Law. Although the law refers to, Indonesia's ratification of the UN Convention on Human Rights and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, petitioners argue its stipulation that citizens of a faith not officially recognized should leave the space blank on their family card or ID amounts to discrimination. The law states that those who leave the spaces blank must still be registered and served but in practice this has frequently not been the case, the petitioners say.
Mundane activities such as arranging birth certificates, enrolling in school, seeking to marry and finding jobs have proven highly stressful and almost impossible for followers of minority faiths, whether or not they leave the ID space for religion blank.
For the sake of practicality many fill the spaces with any one of the state-sanctioned faiths — Islam, Protestantism, Catholicism, Hinduism, Buddhism or Confucianism — rather than be unable, for instance, to bury their loved ones in public cemeteries simply because the deceased was a follower of the Marapu faith of East Nusa Tenggara, or Parmalim of North Sumatra, to cite examples.
How the Constitutional Court rules will be a further test in ensuring equality for all citizens. Indonesians who take IDs for granted are mildly surprised when, for instance, traveling and filling in basic identity forms overseas that they are not required to provide their religion. Many insist that the religion space is needed —just in case of a fatal accident, some say, a Muslim would not want a Christian burial.
Regardless of those who laugh or take such arguments seriously, we are mostly oblivious to the discrimination faced from birth to death by minority faith followers —while those who prefer to be atheist understandably remain silent In 2012 Alexander Aan of supposedly devout West Sumatra, who posted "God doesn't exist" on his Facebook account, was imprisoned forblasphemy and inciting religious hostility.
Living up to the slogan of Bhinneka T-inggal Ika (unity in diversity) is getting harder by the day. Every time we learn we are more diverse than we think, some insist the majority has the right to define what is acceptable within our plurality.
The court will prove its credibility only if it can rule impartially and prioritize the fulfillment of equal rights of Indonesian citizens.