Interview with Rev Fien Sopamena
By Tommy Tjiptadjaja and Eden Steven

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Rev. Fien Sopamena has been a Christian minister for 32 years. She graduated from graduate theological school in Makassar and is currently going back to pursue Law. She had been the secretary of Indonesian Church Assembly (PGI) for 10 years.

Note: The opinions reflected in this interview are solely the interviewee’s and do not necessarily represent FICA Cross Point’s

Cross Point (CP): Can you please kindly introduce yourself?

Fientje Sopamena (FS): My name is Fientje. I have been a Christian minister for 32 years. My husband is also a minister and a teacher in a theological school. I started my ministry in Selayar island. I worked as part of the Christian Church of South Sulawesi who ministers especially to the Makassar, Bugis and Selayar people, numbering in about 6,000. The current situation of our congregation is critical due to radical Muslims who are aiming for implementation of Islamic Syariah. There are regional laws that implement and regulate Syariah at six different regencies as well as one law at provincial level. Although I graduated from graduate-level theological school in Makassar, I am now going back to school in my third semester studying Law. I realize the importance of understanding the legal process from my 10 years experience being the secretary of Indonesian Church Assembly (PGI) where we always had difficulties in properly understanding and dealing with legal issues. We always push the country to uphold the supremacy of law but we do not really understand or sometimes uphold the law properly. That is why I went back to school so we have proper approach and do what we preach to do.

CP: Tell us more about the six regencies with Syariah law. How did the process come to be? Is it a sudden occurrence or progressive? Looking back, how can we see it earlier and think of better ways to deal with it?

FS: Actually if we see how fast the ball rolls in those regencies, all has been planned and prepared. That is the weakness that we can see; there were no non-Muslims representatives in the local parliament hence the Syariah laws could pass easily. Secondly, the people, particularly the congregation, feel that politics is not an area for Christians. Moreover, some people think that we do not need to worry about Syariah laws as they will not affect Christians. Even worse, some extreme segment thinks that if Syariah laws are implemented there will be more Christians as people who are opposed to Syariah laws will become Christians instead. This is a false understanding as Muslims according to the laws cannot switch to become Christians (they might even risk death penalty). Some of the laws are really rough, for example the punishment by whipping which is already implemented in Bulukumba.

CP: Some data shows the poverty gap between Eastern and Western parts of Indonesia. Can you share with us why the gap?

FS: First of all is the bad infrastructure in Eastern Indonesia, causing many remote villages especially in the hilltop Papua to inaccessible. Secondly, proper development and education are not happening in Eastern Indonesia. For example, most farmers still work their fields in a very traditional way yielding a low productivity level, even though they need to keep buying and using the expensive and unsubsidized fertilizer. Hence in the case of crop failure, the farmers will be in debt to the fertilizer sellers. This causes people to be even poorer; this neglect and ignorance by the government. The government actually has Agricultural Minister who can help with educating and investing in these people; many things can be done. Those programs ran well in Thailand which has in turn yielded better results and progress than us. It’s all about development issue.

CP: So why didn’t the government develop Eastern Indonesia the way they developed Western part of Indonesia? Is it because it has fewer natural resources or is it just more difficult?

FS: This is actually a classic issue from the 50s. Back then there was a group of people called Permesta (Perjuangan Semesta Alam/Universal Struggle). This group fought the independence struggle together with Soekarno, but post-independence they did not get any rights or they experienced many injustices. The concentration of central government in Java caused all developments to happen in Java. Most higher education institutions were built in Java which meant only Javanese could enjoy good education. Only rich people outside Java could afford to send their kids to Java for good education. Middle and lower class people could not afford to do the same. Those factors contributed to the difficulties in Eastern Indonesia. Not to mention a very bad and neglected infrastructure conditions.

CP: What are the top three things to be developed in Eastern Indonesia then?

FS: Infrastructure, education, and then economic development. All three are actually intertwined and cannot be separated.

CP: Going back to Syariah topic: it seems that in your region Syariah has reached a very dangerous level. What are the steps being done right now or in the future to deal with this threat?

FS: First, we have to reach like-minded nationalists and pluralist people, be they of Muslim, Hindu, Buddha, Catholics religions. We formed a team to create judicial review which would be sent to Ministry of Home Affairs and Judicial Court. Indirectly, this is also the government’s mistake. Those regional laws should not be passed in the first place because it is the responsibility of the central People’s Representatives and not the regional ones. But certain parties within the government did it on purpose. For example, there is already a law on National Education System which was passed at the national level, but some regions created their own. They will have more freedom as then those matters will be supported through regional budget instead of national budget. All the religious teachers, religious lab for Muslim, etc., were all supported by regional budgets. So these regional laws are useful in a sense that the regions will end up paying for those, not the central government.

CP: So this will give them more freedom but cause imbalance.

FS: Highly imbalance, and it is actually illegal for regions to pass those laws as they are national assembly’s jurisdiction. However, it’s done. Right now we’re pushing for judicial review on those laws but we’re not sure how far it can go. Our president appointed the provincial governors to review those laws. But in reality, do governors have enough power and political will to change them? This is a big problem.

CP: We understand there is still a systemic confusion of authority between provincial and regency levels, between governors(for provinces) and mayor/regents (for regencies/cities).

FS: Exactly. And this is a problem in South Sulawesi as we are approaching our regional elections in 2007. Election year is the worst because people will do anything to get votes. A nationalist governor will be willing to accomodate many things in order to secure votes.

CP: What are the steps being done on the people empowerment’s front?

FS: To me that is a fundamental issue. People’s participation in public sphere does not exist at all. That is the step that the church needs to encourage her congregation to understand; more political education and awareness. But this is an area that the church still feels to be not her domain; it’s still considered tabu (forbidden) for church to be in.

CP: This gets us thinking, how about from our fellow Muslims’ front. We have similar constituents and people, some uneducated and uninvolved in public spheres.

FS: Yes, a lot of the people also do not know their rights. It’s the same with us.

CP: So, it’s all driven by a minority group of people…

FS: Exactly. A lot of those are driven primarily by intellectuals. Not all politicians (members of people’s representatives) agree with these Syariah laws. But what can they do if they don’t have enough votes. But here everyone is playing in the rough, trying to garner enough votes by accomodating this and that issues. PDI-P (PDI-Struggle) also prepares for 2009. Megawati is still afraid to take position. If she is courageous, all PDI-P can say “no” to these. But she will not take any position because she is still counting votes for 2009. Current president SBY is in similar position. So most politicians are busy counting votes for 2009 while people’s conditions are getting worse in light of all these short term and narrow interests.

CP: Does the church have channels that can be used to teach the people their proper rights (and use them wisely)?

FS: We partnered with a number of NGOs, especially those who are fighting for women’s rights. There is one NGO that is researching on the Bulukumba Syariah implementation. I was given a copy of the result. From the result we can see some unusual occurrences, for example in Zakat (tithing). They take zakat out of everyone’s paycheck but without any transparency of its distribution or usage. Nobody knows what they use the zakat for after many months. That kind of issue will be a boomerang that will explode one day as people have been paying zakat without knowing what happen to the money.

CP: What about from Aceh Syariah, have you heard any reports?

FS: I have never read one. I know they are still busy with the physical reconstruction.

CP: Can we discuss a little bit about some “worst case” scenario, should all these Syariah laws keep on being passed, what will happen to the life of the nation as well as non-Muslim believers, particularly in the areas that you are close to.

FS: Two things can actually happen. First, we come back to original 1945 Constitution (UUD 45) thus all laws contrary to the Constitution will be deemed illegal. There are a lot of those. That is the most positive thing. We can start over. But if this does not happen, the second possibility is that there will be a lot of discrimination especially in many places. First discrimination is in school and children. Second is in government offices and agencies, the public service sector. It will be very difficult for non-muslim to get in. New public official can only get promoted if he/she finishes studying Al Quran. This will close the opportunity to get into public offices.

CP: It sounds like it will touch all aspects of life regardless of your religious beliefs.

FS: Yes. Non-Muslims will feel it and eventually have to accept it if this keeps on going.

CP: Can you share a little bit about the church’s current concerns? You have mentioned once that there are tendencies for each church to worry about her own concerns. Can you give examples?

FS: Churches in South Sulawesi generally are busy ministering to their own selves. If we look a the ministry programs and plans, it is obvious that they have annual plan and budget for their own ministries. Usually in a church there is a diakonia post (posko pelayanan). This post is only for internal people. This is typical. Thus they cannot give attention to people outside their own church. We can see churches only do social services or worry about certan social issues if there are some members involved in those issues, otherwise the church will not help or be involved. This can be clearly seen, and this is wrong.

CP: What about those churches’ outlook on the nation’s central, Jakarta.

FS: The churches still think Jakarta as the nation’s capital thus there are a lot of things that they hope coming from PGI as the central assembly of Christian churches in Indonesia. If regional churches cannot voice their concerns, we hope PGI can represent and channel our voice in the capital. This hope and relationship is still hoped for up until now even though in reality PGI has not done its job properly. Not optimally. PGI has done some things, but not optimall; sometimes it is even late. Late in responding to critical situations.

CP: Why is that actually the case? What are the root causes for the current picture? The slowness, lack of response, or concentrated efforts only on sectarian issues (exclusive Christian issues, not national issues/concerns).

FS: Lack of concerns on social political issues. The lack of concerns causes lack of actions. This is again because they feel social political issues as outside their responsibilities. For example, in the past we had PGI Crisis Center. This center dissected issues and prepared important statements to be stated by PGI, thus PGI had a think tank behind it to help think through these issues. This crisis center was disbanded without a replacement. This severely cut the PGI’s capabilities. Socio-political statements need to be made with well-thought and researched political languages, which are hardly pastors’ capabilities. These statements need to be analyzed from many different angles and have to be said fast and responsively given a circumstance. Thus we will never be late when there are issues facing us. People will be able to say, let’s see what PGI thinks. If we can think through social-political issues wisely and well, the statements we say can be guiding thoughts for people at large. PGI will be able to influence the public, being a pioneer. Show our credibility.

CP: If we compare for example, with NU’s contribution to public sphere of Indonesia…

FS: They are really fast because they have a think tank that assists in responding.

CP: Yes, sometimes when we are face with national or social political issues, we think to ourselves “I wonder what NU thinks”. This is sad, considering we are Christians with our Christian faith.

FS: It’s because we always respond slowly and late.

CP: So this is about existence in public sphere. Usual respons are people are nervous if we speak about church’s existence in public sphere. From your point of view, what should be the church’s existence in Indonesian reality?

FS: As I mentioned earlier, church can enter the intellectual groups. They have to be thinker, motivator, encourager and role model. They have to have a power to put pressure and to guard. If anything happens, the church has to have a courage to criticize. But for this the church have to have a strong team of staff to observe and also network, for information to come in and appropriately dissected.

CP: That won’t be easy because that is in addition of the important traditional church role to take care, nurture, and develop congregations.

FS: But that role should not be at the congregation level. It should be at the sinod level, at PGI level. Do not let the congregation work on it, not even the local pastor/minister because they have limited capabilities. But it should be the role for PGI and its sinods, with supports from an appropriate think tank. For example, one time we received a report from two members of a congregation that their church was asked to be closed. Immediately we formed two fact finding teams. Is is true? What is the story? That very same day we left, tomorrow we held meeting, and that night we walked home. The following day we sat together and discussed. Hence the congregation felt cared for, attended to. Sometimes we could not do much but the feeling of cared for, supported for, is important.

CP: Can you give an example from the Bible that illustrates our role as Christians to the society.

FS: To be salt and light. This is the strongest function. To be a guiding light for the sheep to walk in the right path. The social political function is salt and light. If one is no longer “saltening”, he/she is no longer salt. If one cannot become a light, he/she is no longer a light. So the function of the church is salt and light. Then the function of shepherd, not only to herd them but to protect, guarding against incoming enemies. In Ezekiel it was said, to become a guard on top of a guard post. If the city is attacked and the guard does not warn the people, he has to be punished. If the city is attacked and the guard already warned the people but the people did not care, he is no longer at fault. So the function of the guard is to forward proper information. To make people move; to motivate people to do something. That is also a function that the church has to have.

CP: Let’s enter the last topic: messages for Cross Point readers that are spread worldwide?

FS: One message is that whenever the day is still alight, let us work. Because there will be a time when night comes, when we cannot work again. This means that when we still have an opportunity to work for Christ, to spread His love to our nation and people, let us work that. So before it is too late, let us take responsibilities as Indonesian citizens who are Christians. This nation, God has given us. Thus we need to fill this independence as much as we can in duty and devotion. God will not leave His children who hope and depend on Him. God will never leave Indonesia because there are those of us who are faithful to Him.

CP: True. Conversely, are there any warnings for us as sheep who often gone ashtray?

FS: I prefer to use positive encouragement: we have a responsibility to manifest Kingdom of God. The signs are peace and prosperity. With the peace and prosperity we have to take part. It is not merely granted from heaven but we have to work it, wherever we are. When the Jews were in exile in Babel, they were desperate. Isaiah was commanded to say, “Build a city wherever you are. The city’s prosperity is also your prosperity.” If our nation experiences peace and prosperity, we will do also. Thus it is our responsibility to make peace and prosperity happen through each of our discipline, our knowledge, our situation, our calling.

CP: Last question, for our brothers and sisters in US, for FICA, and other friends, what preparation that we should do while we are here?

FS: You all are truly blessed by God to enjoy such a place in US, to get educated in a great educational institutions. Not everyone received these blessings. But more is given, more is demanded as God is waiting for you to channel those blessings to others, to our brothers and sisters, to our fellowship, to our fellow citizens, fellow Indonesians. This is a responsibility that God is waiting us to be a blessing for other people. It is not easy though as we tend to bless only ourselves.

CP: True. Sometimes we also feel that if we keep all these blessings inside to ourselves, such as getting much knowledge without channeling those outside, it can be spoiled inside, causing us to have apathy and haughty. No circulation and unhealthy.

FS: There is a great parable. Spring of water by the side of a river or a sea, it never spills. The fresh water stays fresh but stays at the same level. If we take the water out it does not run out. The moment we take the water out, it will refill itself. God’s blessing is like the spring of water. If we does not take it out, it stays the same amount. But if we take it out, the production will continues and never ends. I tend to use the parable to reflect life as a water spring. If we appreciate it and share the blessings, then the spring will never dries. Some even say that the more often you take it out, the bigger the spring is.

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