Next Religious Affairs Minister Must Be Accepted by All Religions

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Poempida Hidayatulloh, spokesman of the Vice Presidential-elect Jusuf 'JK' Kalla, said the Minister of Religious Affairs in the next cabinet must be respected and accepted by all religions.

"The post of Religious Affairs Minister is crucial given the complexity of religious diversity in Indonesia," said Poempida to Tempo yesterday.

The biggest challenge to be faced by the next Religious Affairs Minister is the fact that there are two biggest religious groups in the country.

If a candidate from Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) is appointed as Religious Affairs Minister, he would be obliged to promote dialogs with those from Muhammadiyah group, and vice versa.

Poempida said that the minister must be able to embrace other religious groups other than the two majority ones.

Another criteria is that the candidate must have a good track record.

"He must never been implicated in any graft cases. That’s one of the most important requirements he/she has to meet," Poempida said.

Furthermore, integrity and credibility of the next Minister would also be taken into account so that he/she will be respected by all religious groups in Indonesia.

However, the authority to appoint a candidate to fill the ministerial posts in the next cabinet lies in the hands of Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo and JK.

Poempida hoped that ministers to be appointed by the next President and Vice President are able to carry out the mandate from the people. He was also upbeat Jokowi-JK could form an effective cabinet in the next government.

DINI PRAMITA