I

ntolerance is infantile. It'€™s the measles of mankind, be it leveled against religion, race or skin color. That makes tolerance delicate, sensitive and more fragile than intolerance. Many leaders speak of it, talk about it, advocate for it and yet more and more seem to be using just empty rhetoric.

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

The greatest irony of all is that while the President has been lauded with the World Statesman Award, the pandemic seems to be 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 guise of religion.

It is disheartening to hear the Home Minister requesting the Jakarta Governor to remove the subdistrict head, Susan Jasmine Zulkifli, from her post because she is a Christian in a Muslim-majority community '€” even though he knows 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 is rooted deeply in our society since it is groomed and nourished by our own leaders. Worse, the rejection does not reflect the whole aspirations of the people in the region, as many accept Susan despite her religion, giving her the chance to prove that she'€™s worthy of 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.

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 have 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 '€œJokowi'€ Widodo and his deputy stand firm to defy the absurd and groundless request. They have the nerve to reiterate that they would not replace Susan because of her religion. They chose their subordinates based on their credibility and performance, instead of race, gender or religion.

Any act of intolerance and prejudice over race, skin color, gender or religion should be discouraged and punished according to the law. Tolerance and mutual respect should be promoted, nourished and encouraged.

Last but not least, religion is totally not the root of the problem for intolerance. It is a man-made scourge resulting from the inability of human beings to control their agitated minds. All actions that result from such a state of mind will not be in tune with reality. It feeds willful ignorance.

Yuni Herlina
Depok, West Java