Protests continue to dismiss Christian subdistrict head in S. Jakarta

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The rejection by local Muslim residents of the head of the Lenteng Agung subdistrict in South Jakarta continues, with some 700 people taking to the streets on Wednesday calling for the dismissal of the Christian subdistrict head.

Locals from Lenteng Agung demanded that the Jakarta administration dismiss their newly installed subdistrict head, Susan Jasmine Zulkifli, 43, simply because she was a Christian, not a Muslim like the majority of residents.

Spokesman for the Lenteng Agung Residents Forum, Mochamad Rusli, said that Wednesday’s demonstration was larger than one held previously, in which only around 300 people protested in front of the subdistrict office.

“Today, we held a long march [rather than just standing in front of the subdistrict office],” Rusli said as quoted by tempo.co on Wednesday.

He said that during the march, protesters carried a coffin that he said "depicted the death of democracy". He added that the Jakarta administration had yet to respond to Wednesday’s protest.

Jakarta Governor Joko ‘Jokowi’ Widodo previously said he would not move Susan, despite the demands by some residents for her dismissal.

The governor emphasized the fact that he installed district and subdistrict leaders based on their abilities and achievements and that, as a result, he would not be bowing to local pressure.

Susan was among the 415 local leaders inaugurated in June by Jokowi after passing a series of tests in an open-call selection.