To ensure the rights of all religious groups in the country are protected, it is vital that representatives of each group hold strategic posts in the Religious Affairs Ministry’s community guidance directorates general, experts have said following the public outcry over the recent appointment of a Muslim official as the acting head of Catholic affairs.

Religious Affairs Minister Fachrul Razy’s decision to appoint a Muslim to head the Catholic Affairs Community Guidance Directorate General caused disquiet among followers of the religion.

Acknowledging the move was a blunder, the ministry appointed Aloma Sarumaha as the acting director general, replacing the ministry's secretary-general Nur Kholis Setiawan who was previously appointed to the position. Aloma, who is a Catholic, previously held the position of secretary in the same directorate general.

Aloma’s appointment came after the ministry faced sharp criticism after an apparent bureaucratic blunder led to two Muslim officials filling the post in succession.

Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University scholar Syafiq Hasyim stressed it was crucial for the directorates general of specific religions to be led by a member of the respective religions so that the aspirations of that community could be met. The directorates general are tasked with formulating policies and running programs to support their respective religious activities.

"The directorates general were established to represent each of the country's official religions [in the ministry]. Thus, morally speaking, the posts should be filled by followers of the respective religions," Syafiq said on Wednesday.

Alissa Wahid of the religious freedom watchdog Wahid Foundation said the ministry should show more sensitivity toward the needs of all religious groups, particularly minorities.

"Hence, the recruitment process should be improved to cater to their needs,” she said.

Of the country’s six official religions, all have a dedicated directorate general within the ministry, except for Confucianism, which is only represented by a guidance and education center head, who is also a Muslim official.

Confucianism was outlawed during the New Order era and was only recognized as an official religion under the leadership of late president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid.

Indonesian Supreme Council for the Confucian Religion (Matakin) chairman Budi Santoso Tanuwibowo said few followers of Confucianism worked in the ministry, making it hard for the community to be represented by one of its members.

However, Budi expressed hope that Confucianism would soon have its own directorate general headed by a member of the community.

"If the state acknowledges Confucianism as an official religion, then it should have the same rights as the others," the Matakin leader said.

Nur admitted he had mistakenly advised the ministry's top brass to appoint a Muslim official as the Catholic community guidance director general after he misread a 2019 National Civil Service Agency regulation that stated that civil servants could only be appointed as acting officials in positions “at the same level or one level above” the positions they currently held.

Nur had previously been appointed to the role in January, replacing another Muslim official, Muhammadiyah Amin, who had filled the position since the previous director general, Eusabius Binsasi, a Catholic, retired last July.

“I apologize for this oversight,” Nur said in a statement on Monday night.

Religious Affairs Minister Zainut Tauhid Sa'adi previously said the appointment of a Muslim as the acting director general was made for purely administrative reasons.

“In the Catholic Community Guidance Directorate General there is only one echelon I position, while the rest are echelon II and III, so it was impossible for the acting head to come from the Catholic directorate general,” he said.

The ministry is set to open the recruitment process for several echelon I and II posts soon, including for the Catholic community guidance director general.

"Hopefully, we can provide three good names for each position to the ministry by the end of March," the selection committee secretary, Thomas Pentury, said.