Bahtiar Rifa’I, Jakarta – Indonesian Solidarity Party (PSI) chairperson Grace Natalie has said that they do not support religious based bylaws such as those based on syariah (Islamic law) or the Bible.

Incumbent President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s vice presidential running mate, Ma’ruf Amin, which the PSI is backing in the 2019 presidential elections, has commented on Natalie’s statement. What did he say?

“There are also national laws on shariah banking right, so I don’t think it needs to become a polemic”, said Amin at the An Nawawi Tanara Islamic boarding school in Serang regency, Banten, on Sunday November 18.

According to Amin, shariah based bylaws are drafted by individual regional governments. If a region wants to have a syariah based regulation, he doesn’t have a problem with it, including bylaws based on the Bible in certain areas.

Providing, he continued, the public has evidence that a particular region is where the Bible was first introduced. “On the issue of the Bible, if the public has evidence that it was the area first introduced to the Bible, then I think it’s the right of that region”, he said.

Amin asserted and has asked that the issue not become a debate. On the issue of bylaws based on shariah or the Bible, he said it doesn’t need to become a polemic. “We must be balanced”, he said.

Earlier, at the commemoration of the PSI’s fourth anniversary, Natalie said that the PSI wants to prevent discrimination and acts of intolerance. In addition to this, according to Natalie, churches should no longer be forcibly closed.

“The PSI will prevent the birth of injustice, discrimination and all [forms of] intolerance in this county”, said Natalie at the Indonesia Convention Exhibition (ICE-BSD) in Tangerang, Banten, on Sunday November 11.

“This party will never support perda [bylaws] based on the Bible or perda based syariah, churches can no longer be allowed to be forcibly closed”, she added.

[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was PSI Tolak Perda Keagamaan, Ini Kata Ma’ruf Amin.]

Source: https://news.detik.com/berita/d-4307239/psi-tolak-perda-keagamaan-ini-kata-maruf-amin