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Citing lockdown rules, govt cracks down hard on Rizieq
Following the dismissal of the police chiefs of Jakarta and West Java, which was ordered by Coordinating Political, Legal and Human Rights Minister Mahfud MD, the Jakarta Police on Tuesday summoned Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan, seeking clarification regarding a public gathering held at the FPI headquarters in Petamburan, Central Jakarta, where thousands of Rizieq's supporters gathered without wearing masks and causally ignoring social-distancing rules.
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Crowds wait for the arrival of firebrand cleric and leader of Islam Defenders Front (FPI) Rizieq Shihab in the group's headquarters in Petamburan, Central Jakarta on Nov. 10. (Antara/Asprilla Dwi Adha)
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n the wake of the serious breaches of COVID-19 restrictions resulting from the mass gatherings organized by the Islam Defenders Front (FPI) to welcome its leader Rizieq Shihab over the weekend, the administration of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has begun taking tough measures to limit the movement of the firebrand cleric and punish officials deemed responsible for any missteps.
Following the dismissal of the police chiefs of Jakarta and West Java, which was ordered by Coordinating Political, Legal and Human Rights Minister Mahfud MD, the Jakarta Police on Tuesday summoned Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan, seeking clarification regarding a public gathering held at the FPI headquarters in Petamburan, Central Jakarta, where thousands of Rizieq's supporters gathered without wearing masks and causally ignoring social-distancing rules.
"I came here as a private citizen to provide a clarification to the police," Anies told reporters soon after arriving at the police headquarters.
Anies was the first and only high-profile politician to welcome Rizieq upon his return from Saudi Arabia on Tuesday last week.
The questioning of Anies took place shortly after the National Police chief Gen. Idham Azis moved to dismiss Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. Nana Sudjana and West Java Police chief Insp. Gen. Rudy Sufahradi Novianti from their positions on Monday for their failure to enforce COVID-19 restrictions during the rally to welcome Rizieq both at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Banten, as well as during the weekend wedding of Rizieq's daughter in Puncak, West Java.
The police plan to summon Rizieq for questioning in the future. Also on the list of officials to be questioned is Central Jakarta Mayor Bayu Meghantara.
The National Police have also decided to ban future gatherings planned by Rizieq and his supporters.
