Last Friday, the head of Bandung’s Religious and Social Welfare Agency, H Latief, announced a groundbreaking new program that would combine public transportation with public displays of religious moralizing.
“Pendakwah (preachers) will be included on Damri type city buses. The material that they will be given (to preach about) will be about good morals, values and so forth,” Latif said through a press release picked up by Kompas.
“Instead of passengers daydreaming or playing on their mobile phone, it is better for them to listen to a lecture,” he added.
The press release announced that the program was set to begin on Oct 2.
On Sunday, Bandung Mayor Ridwan Kamil claimed that he had been caught off guard by Latif’s announcement as he had not given his blessing to the program, saying that issues such as whether it was discriminatory towards other religions had to be studied first.
But by Monday, Ridwan had changed his tune and said that he would give his go-ahead to the program, mentioning that it had already gotten a good response from the public and that he had only been disappointed that it had been announced without his knowledge.
So if you’re looking to enjoy a nice relaxing bus ride while simultaneously increasing your religious and moral knowledge, be sure to come to Bandung in October for a ride in a Damri bus.
