Hotli Simanjuntak, Banda Aceh – Acehnese politicians are no longer required to be proficient in reading the Koran to be eligible for the upcoming national legislative elections.

Following a prolonged public debate, Home Minister Mardiyanto has annulled the controversial article of the 2008 election bylaw that required legislative candidates to pass a Koran recital test. The legal requirement prevails, however, for local politicians contending seats at the provincial and regency legislatures.

Mardiyanto conveyed to Aceh Governor Irwandi Yusuf that his administration was only entitled to set rules pertaining to local parties, in his letter sent to the governor on July 18. "National parties must comply with the 2008 Election Law," Mardiyanto said in the letter.

He also requested explanations from the Aceh provincial administration on test standards and indicators used in conducting the Koran recital tests for local parties' legislative hopefuls.

If the article in question were made compulsory for national elections, it was feared it would have contradicted higher laws – 10/2008 and 22/2007 – on the election of House of Representatives and provincial legislature members.

However, revocation of the article has undoubtedly stirred controversy among local parties in the province.

Aceh People's Party (PRA) secretary-general Thamren Ananda hailed the home minister's decision because the bylaw was contradictory to the two laws.

Cleric Tengku Bulkaini Tanjungan, however, regretted the article's revocation, saying the Koran recital skill was closely related with the special province's Islamic moral values. "Every political party in Aceh, be it local or national, should undergo the test. How could Aceh improve people's morality if their representatives can't even read and understand the Koran?" Bulkani said.

A law lecturer at Syah Kuala University in Banda Aceh, Taqwadin, disagreed with the remarks, saying the home minister had done the right thing.

He said proficiency in Koran recital had no correlation with the behavior of legislators. "Many legislators in this country can read the Koran but they still commit immoral acts," Taqwadin said.

Irwandi said he had predicted the conflict before the ordinance on local parties was submitted to Mardiyanto. "It doesn't mean that we are not receptive to the article on Koran recital being implemented in Aceh, but the problem is that it goes beyond the national law," he said.