Pangkalpinang, Bangka Belitung, June 25 (ANTARA) - Bangka Belitung is well-known as a province for its ethnic diversity. There, Malay, Chinese descendants and other ethnic groups across Indonesia are living in harmony side by side.
In Bangka Belitung, worship houses of various religions and beliefs are everywhere. But not many know that it also houses Britain's "Iron Lady".
One of those is Kuan Yin Goddess' shrine in Sungailiat, in the district of Bangka, which can be reached in an hour from Pangkalpinang by car.
The solemn atmosphere is instantly felt once tourists enter the shrine area. Unlike most temples which apply red as the prosperous symbol, Kuan Yin temple uses jade green colour.
Inside, like common Confucian temples, we can see statues of gods and goddesses, candles, and incense. However, if we go to Kuan Yin Goddess' shrine in Sungailiat, we also can see the picture of Britain's "Iron Lady", Margaret Thatcher, besides other important figures, such as former president Corazon Aquino of Philippines.
Placed in an ivory colour frame, the picture of the former British prime minister is seen smiling while shaking hands with a young man in a slightly over-sized black suit.
"That was me and the prime minister in Jakarta, back in995," Hermanto Wijaya (56), the founder of the temple, said.
Hermanto, who formerly taught at Mahatma Gandhi Memorial School, Jakarta, shared his experience ofmeetingwith his politician idol.
"Before I had the chance to have dinner with Mrs. Thatcher, I used to collect all articles about her career from any sources, such as newspapers,and made them into tidy clippings," he said.
After she came to know about her ardent fan, the British prime minister invited Hermanto to have dinner in Jakarta.
"I was so excited at that time, Mrs. Thatcher told me that she appreciated my work to bind and make clippings of the articles about her, and I also told her how I admired her political views," he said.
Hermanto, who is currently teaching Mandarin in a small junior high school in Sungailiat, also agrees with Thatcher's leadership style.
As a prime minister, Hermanto said, she implemented conservative policies which brought back financial gain to the United Kingdom.
"We do need a leader whose spirit is similar to that of Thatcher's. As the first woman prime minister in the UK, she pioneered privatising of state-owned companies and more than that, she sent troops to fight in the Falkland Islands against Argentinean occupants," he said.
Hermanto said it was Thatcher's self determination in leadership that amazed him.
Holy water
Known as the goddess of mercy and compassion, she bestows blessings in that little shrine. There is also a spring which is believed by locals to be efficacious water.
"I found the spring through a revelation, I was told I should dig up the ground at Pangeran Jayakarta next to Mangga Dua Square in Jakarta. Since many people were against it, I gave up and a voice led me here and I dug to find this spring water," he said.
Locals believe the water from the Kuan Yin's spring can heal many diseases."It doesn't matter what religion you believe in, the Kuan Yin goddess blesses everyone," Hermanto said.
Not only common people, many state officials and celebrities also come here to collect water.
"Famous figures such as Titiek Puspa, Lula Kamal and many high-ranking military and police officials also come here," he said.
Visitors also believe they can see their fate at the Kuan Yin shrine.
"Using the prophecy bamboo, people can know their future, almost all predictions are precise," Hermanto explained.
One of the visitors, Rustam Effendi (32), from Padang, says,
"This is my third visit to the shrine. The first time when I came, about three years ago, it was predicted thatI would have a daughter, not long ago my wife gave birth to a beautiful little daughter," he said while holding his two-year-old girl.
Harmony
Even though the shrine is intended as a worship house for Confucian, it also represents the nation's religious harmony.
"There is a special place for Muslims and Christians to pray," Hermanto said.
Besides the Kuan Yin shrine, Hermanto also built two worship houses (Baiturahman mosque and a church).
Those three worship houses are only about 50 meters from each other.
"I want to seereligious harmony in this world, that is why I built this shrine next to other worship houses," Hermanto said.
(T.027/INE/A/S02)
