Defying Religious Intolerance

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2013/10/03/your-letters-defying-religious-intolerance.html

Intolerance is an infantile thing. It’s the measles of mankind be it in the form of religion, race or skin color.

The recent protest over the appointment of a Christian subdistrict head in Lenteng Agung of South Jakarta, highlighted again and again the growing religious intolerance in our country. It brings to light how such disease has become a dangerous plague, if not properly cured. Bigotry has been on the loose for far too long. This pandemic needs vaccination programs before infected more and more people.

The greatest irony of all, while the president had been lauded with the World Statesman Award, the pandemic seems getting worse. Although he has publicly supported religious tolerance, members of his cabinet often send conflicting messages on the issue. They succumb too often to public pressures in the disguise of religion.

It is disheartening to hear the Home Minister requesting the Jakarta Governor to remove Susan Jasmine Zulkifli from her post due to her being a Christian in a Muslim-majority community while he is fully aware that her appointment is official, legal and lawful under our Constitution. He has bowed down to irrational public demand cloaked with bigotry.

Like all populists, the minister knows that his views play well with the mainstream majority. For that reason, intolerance has rooted deeply in our society since it is groomed and nourished by our own leaders.

Worse, the rejection does not reflect the whole aspiration of the people in the region as many accept Susan despite her religion, giving her the chance to prove that she’s worth the post. The protest is allegedly masterminded by her rivals who lost in the race, using religion for purely political reasons to attack and discredit opponents in order to regain lost support.

On top of that, the protestors bluntly voiced their refusal of the female Christian leader solely due to her religion and not her performance. This is totally unacceptable. Islam has a proud tradition of tolerance and peace, and not the other way around.

Public servants are selected to serve all citizens, regardless of race, skin color or religion. Indonesia’s constitution guarantees religious freedom and equality, male or female. All stand equal and has the same rights to be elected and appointed as public officials including Susan.

Despite the odds, I exhale in relief to learn that DKI Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo (Jokowi) and his Deputy stand firm to defy the absurd and groundless request. They have the nerves to reiterate that they would not replace Susan of her religion. They chose their subordinates based on their credibility and performance, instead of race, gender or religion.

They would evaluate her performance as per the administration’s policy. They would open a dialogue, but not tolerate any move by force or pressures.

What a brave move!

It’s another fearless move by the duo that has successfully relocated street vendors from Tanah Abang to Blok G, even going face to face with the street thugs.

Many have high regard for such leaders who do not allow bigotry and hatred to rule over the society. Public officials across the nation should follow this good lead. It takes courage and guts to defend what’s right amid the democratic euphoria. Afterall, democracy does not mean that we ride roughshod over our Constitution.

It is a step closer to find the remedy for the plague. Leaders of this nation should stand firm to hold and defend the Constitution despite mounting pressures. Any act of intolerance and prejudice over race, skin color, gender or religion should be discouraged and punished according to the law.

Last but not least, religious is totally not the root of the problem. The root cause of these man­-made problems is the inability of human beings to control their agitated minds.