TEMPO.CO, Jakarta-Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan said that President Joko Widodo will listen to the people’s voice in relation to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) issue.
“The President is listening to the people’s voice. That’s all. We’ll see what happens. The issue has only been talked about for two weeks. We should not overreact,” Luhut said at the Presidential Palace Complex, Monday, February 22, 2016.
Luhut said that the government is in no hurry with this issue. According to him, the issue has already been highlighted by the public, therefore, discretion is needed in responding to the issue.
The President, Luhut said, will first observe the development among the people. “The President is listening to opinions developing among the people. But he won’t simply abide to it. We must act wisely,” he said.
The minister said the decision on the acceptance toward LGBT Community depends on ours. He said that social changes happen in the society. For instance, Luhut referred to what happened in Brazil.
According to him, Brazil is a country with devout Catholics majority and had previously rejected LGBT. But now 90 percent of Brazilian have welcomed LGBT community. “Do we want it to happen in Indonesia? It depends on ourselves,” he said.
ANANDA TERESIA