Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – After many years when it was too dangerous for him to visit his Aceh family home, Muslim Ibrahim finally returned with last August's signing of a peace agreement between the government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM).
"Thanks to the truce, I can now stay in my mother's house whenever I want to," the chairman of the Aceh Ulema Consultative Assembly (MPU) told legislators deliberating a bill on governance in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam on Thursday. "Before that, I didn't dare. Even if I had wanted to, my mother wouldn't have let me," added the Banda Aceh resident.
Religious figures from the overwhelmingly Muslim province told legislators the Acehnese welcomed the truce after many years of strife, although there were differing views on whether sharia law should also be applied to non-Muslims.
"All Acehnese share the same view because they experienced peace in Aceh after the truce," MPU deputy chairman Daud Zamzani said. "But to make it lasting, we need a law on Aceh's governance." Saying that sharia Islamic law was fully supported by the public, Daud urged legislators to ensure the bill gave authority to the Aceh administration.
Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and Muhammadiyah, the country's two largest Muslim organizations, as well as Jamiatul al-Wasiyah, a Muslim institution based in Aceh, said the passage of the bill was essential for trust building in the province.
"The Acehnese aspiration to practice sharia should not be seen as a move to separate from Indonesia. This is what they want," said M. Masyumi Naim of NU. However, NU and Muhammadiyah differed on the scope of the sharia court.
NU representative Soleh Amin said they should cover all people in Aceh, including non-Muslims and the military. He argued that it would be illogical and inefficient to impose separate legal systems in an area. "The same treatment for all Acehnese would make it more efficient," Soleh said.
Muhammadiyah responded that non-Muslims should not be subject to sharia because Indonesia adheres to national law and regional law. "We couldn't remove district courts in Aceh because it is part of the Unitary Republic of Indonesia," said Hasballah M. Saad, an Acehnese who chairs the Muhammadiyah legal department.
He said sharia's implementation in the province was not "maximal", with caning currently the only sanction for crimes such as gambling, theft and adultery.
The House special committee conducting the hearing is seeking opinions from the government, the Regional Representatives Council, social organizations, experts and individuals before the March 31 deadine for its passage.
The 50-strong committee also plans to meet with former presidents Soeharto, B.J. Habibie, Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid and Megawati Soekarnoputri. Soeharto, 84, has been diagnosed with diminished mental capacity due to old age, while Gus Dur and Megawati, who chairs the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, have expressed concerns about aspects of the bill.