Mareje Village Burning Incident Was Not Fueled by Race or Religion Says West NTT Interfaith Leader

JAKARTADAILY.ID – Interfaith leaders in West Nusa Tenggara (NTT) agreed that the burning of people's houses in Majere village, Lembar sub-district, West Lombok, was not a conflict over ethnic, religious, racial, and inter-group issues.

Deputy chairman of the Indonesian Buddhist Association (Permabudi) NTB Province, Nurtha Dharma Sukaka, in his statement said that the conflict had been resolved and the residents had returned to their activities. The case that happened and went viral some time ago was triggered by a misunderstanding among local youths.

"We do not consider this a racial problem. However, we hope that this incident will serve as a lesson so that the same incident does not happen in this area," explained Nurtha when meeting members of Commission VIII at the West Lombok Regent's Office, Monday, May 23, 2022.

Responding to the situation, the West Lombok Regency government has formed a conflict-handling task force and has followed up on the events that occurred.

"The task force that was formed has mitigated and followed up on this problem. The burnt victim's house is also currently in the process of being repaired," said the Regional Secretary of the West Lombok Regency Government, Baehaqi.

The Head of the NTB Regional Office, Zaidi Abdad, in his statement said that the Ministry of Religion continues to provide guidance and socialization on religious moderation.

Also read: 'The Offspring Greatest Hits' to be Released for The First Time on Vinyl, July 29, 2022

Apart from being a priority program for Minister of Religion Yaqut Cholil Qoumas, strengthening religious moderation is also very important for the continuity of harmony in this country.

"We continue to provide guidance both for ASN within the Ministry of Religion, as well as for community elements such as mass organizations or others, and for the NTB area we have carried out coaching to villages that are difficult to reach," explained Zaidi.

In line with the Regional Office of the NTB Ministry of Religion, the Deputy Chair of Commission VIII who is the head of the workgroup Diah Pitaloka said that this religious moderation program needs to be intensified and implemented in all Community Guidance work units (bimas) so that it can reach the lowest level.

"This is not only the job of the secretariat, but also all community services so that the results can be maximized, and we hope that conflict incidents like what happened in West Lombok will not happen again," concluded Diah.

Follow us on Google News