Boen Hian Tong Remembers the Tragedy of May "98 Holds Ritual "Rujak Pare Sambel Kecombrang"
Berita Warga 
Boen Hian Tong (Perkumpulan Rasa Dharma) Semarang is again holding an event to commemorate the tragedy of May "98 with the theme "Sexual Blackmail Via Social Media". This activity was carried out at the Boen Hian Tong headquarters, at the Rasa Dharma Building, Jalan Gang Pinggir 31, Kranggan, Semarang, Saturday, (18/05/24).
This activity commemorates the tragedy of May "98 in the form of prayers and rituals of Pare Sambel Kecombrang, Reflelsi Mei "98 and Estungkara. The event was enlivened by the Lamkwan music performance "Boen Hian Tong" which performed brilliantly.
The activity which started at 18.30 WIB, guided by Asrida Ulinuha, began with the Tien prayer ritual led by WS Andi (Tjiok) Gunawan at the entrance to the ancestral altar.
Before the procession to the altar in the Sinci room, black ribbons are placed on the participants" arms. Then it was continued with the laying of Tuberose Flowers and hio for Ita and prayers in the altar room led by WS Andi Gunawan by offering prayers for the May 1998 Tragedy to the presence of God.
"We gathered together in this place, to bow down together, uphold decency to respect the victims of May 1998, especially as a symbol of Sinci Ita Martadinata which was placed in the Boen Hian Tong Association Building, Semarang," said Andi.
Through the smoke of incense that soared into the vast sky, continued WS Andi, we hope that our prayers for all the victims of the May 1998 tragedy can be given peace in the realm of eternity, together with the Most Just Creator.
Refusing to forget as a form of memorial, through the ritual symbol of rujak pare sambal kecombrang allows us to continue learning by emulating events to do better in life without forgetting history
"As the Buddha said, "I like life, I like truth too, but if I can"t get both, I will let go of life and hold on to the truth. "Hopefully the example of Ita Martadinata, and the victims of May 1998, continued Andi, will make us always remember to uphold the truth in the path of virtue, justice in humanity," he said.
WS Andi Gunawan, who also serves as Chair of the May 98 Tragedy Commemoration Committee in 2024, said in his speech that he really appreciated the interfaith figures and invitees who took part in this commemoration.
"Boen Hian Tong has carried out commemoration activities for the May "98 tragedy. The first activity was held on Sunday, May 13 2018 at 09.00 WIB. At that time, two hours earlier, at 07.00 WIB, there was news of a bomb exploding in Surabaya. ," Andi recalled.
Furthermore, Andi said, why bitter melon, it symbolizes bitter history. So it"s bitter and spicy, we cry too, right? It symbolizes the pain of violence and fear that Chinese people experienced during the 1998 tragedy. "And Chinese women are symbolized by the kecombrang flower. "This is to remind us that this tragedy should not happen again," explained Andi.
In the testimony event, the Estungkara Kecombrang program presented testimonies to the events of May "98, namely; Budi, Anastasia, Michael alias Ting-Ting and others.
Meanwhile, Chairman of Boen Hian Tong Harjanto Halim said, earlier there was bitter melon salad, there was telang flower, there was tuberose flower, these are actually symbols that we are trying to bring to life, so it is a very vile and shameful thing. “Abominations, shameful disgrace and disgraceful acts must not be forgotten and repeated. "This is our duty as citizens," reminded Harjanto.
Furthermore, he said, together we can grow seeds of goodness and erode hatred. That"s the most important thing, the May "98 Tragedy Warning doesn"t stop here.
“What has happened in the past cannot be corrected and repaired. But we have to look at future problems because there is still a lot of sexual violence and domestic violence occurring. We must be aware of the issue of sextorsion - sexual blackmail via social media - which threatens our children. "Our children need our attention and care, so that they don"t become victims of sextorsion," warned Harjanto.
This activity commemorates the tragedy of May "98 in the form of prayers and rituals of Pare Sambel Kecombrang, Reflelsi Mei "98 and Estungkara. The event was enlivened by the Lamkwan music performance "Boen Hian Tong" which performed brilliantly.
The activity which started at 18.30 WIB, guided by Asrida Ulinuha, began with the Tien prayer ritual led by WS Andi (Tjiok) Gunawan at the entrance to the ancestral altar.
Before the procession to the altar in the Sinci room, black ribbons are placed on the participants" arms. Then it was continued with the laying of Tuberose Flowers and hio for Ita and prayers in the altar room led by WS Andi Gunawan by offering prayers for the May 1998 Tragedy to the presence of God.
"We gathered together in this place, to bow down together, uphold decency to respect the victims of May 1998, especially as a symbol of Sinci Ita Martadinata which was placed in the Boen Hian Tong Association Building, Semarang," said Andi.
Through the smoke of incense that soared into the vast sky, continued WS Andi, we hope that our prayers for all the victims of the May 1998 tragedy can be given peace in the realm of eternity, together with the Most Just Creator.
Refusing to forget as a form of memorial, through the ritual symbol of rujak pare sambal kecombrang allows us to continue learning by emulating events to do better in life without forgetting history
"As the Buddha said, "I like life, I like truth too, but if I can"t get both, I will let go of life and hold on to the truth. "Hopefully the example of Ita Martadinata, and the victims of May 1998, continued Andi, will make us always remember to uphold the truth in the path of virtue, justice in humanity," he said.
WS Andi Gunawan, who also serves as Chair of the May 98 Tragedy Commemoration Committee in 2024, said in his speech that he really appreciated the interfaith figures and invitees who took part in this commemoration.
"Boen Hian Tong has carried out commemoration activities for the May "98 tragedy. The first activity was held on Sunday, May 13 2018 at 09.00 WIB. At that time, two hours earlier, at 07.00 WIB, there was news of a bomb exploding in Surabaya. ," Andi recalled.
Furthermore, Andi said, why bitter melon, it symbolizes bitter history. So it"s bitter and spicy, we cry too, right? It symbolizes the pain of violence and fear that Chinese people experienced during the 1998 tragedy. "And Chinese women are symbolized by the kecombrang flower. "This is to remind us that this tragedy should not happen again," explained Andi.
In the testimony event, the Estungkara Kecombrang program presented testimonies to the events of May "98, namely; Budi, Anastasia, Michael alias Ting-Ting and others.
Meanwhile, Chairman of Boen Hian Tong Harjanto Halim said, earlier there was bitter melon salad, there was telang flower, there was tuberose flower, these are actually symbols that we are trying to bring to life, so it is a very vile and shameful thing. “Abominations, shameful disgrace and disgraceful acts must not be forgotten and repeated. "This is our duty as citizens," reminded Harjanto.
Furthermore, he said, together we can grow seeds of goodness and erode hatred. That"s the most important thing, the May "98 Tragedy Warning doesn"t stop here.
“What has happened in the past cannot be corrected and repaired. But we have to look at future problems because there is still a lot of sexual violence and domestic violence occurring. We must be aware of the issue of sextorsion - sexual blackmail via social media - which threatens our children. "Our children need our attention and care, so that they don"t become victims of sextorsion," warned Harjanto.
