The decades-old Pondok Cina 01 State Elementary School was set to give way for a new mosque starting next year, due to complaints from local Depok residents of a lack of mosques on the Jl. Margonda Raya main throughway.

The plan, however, has faced fierce opposition from the parents of the students who still attend the school, with West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil deciding to take their side following weeks of protests.

“Since the [problem regarding ownership] of the land is still in contestation, I have sent a letter [informing the Depok city administration] that funding [for the construction of the mosque] will be postponed indefinitely until this problem has been peacefully resolved,” Ridwan said on Monday, as quoted by Kompas.com.

He was referring to the Rp 18.8 billion (US$1.2 million) required for the construction of the mosque that was set to be sourced from the West Java regional budget.

Through the letter, Ridwan said he had instructed the Depok city administration to look for a win-win solution and to ensure the pupils’ access to schooling is not interrupted. However, Ridwan also said he could not intervene any further, since the mayor of Depok had authority over state elementary schools.

Human barricade

Ridwan’s letter came only a day after a gaggle of volunteers along with around 50 parents blockaded themselves inside the school grounds to fend-off dozens of Public Order Agency (Satpol PP) officials, who came to empty the school on Sunday morning.

One of the parents, 42-year-old Cici, said, a few Satpol PP officials had previously come to the school on Saturday night, but the parents managed to dissuade their approach by pointing out that the officials did not have a proper permit to force an eviction.

“We then received information that they wanted [to return] to confiscate inventory [from the school] at around 4 a.m., that’s why we were on guard," Cici said on Sunday, as quoted by Kompas.

Following hours of deadlock, Satpol PP officials left the school at around midday on Sunday after Depok city officials agreed with the parents to reopen discussions on the eviction plan at a later date.

But legal representative for the parents, Airlangga Julio, told reporters on Sunday that a date for the meeting had not been settled, particularly as the parents were expecting to receive a formal invitation for the discussion.

Following a meeting with the Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAI) on Friday, dozens of parents agreed to take the Depok city administration to court over the forced eviction, with a team of 20 lawyers, including Airlangga, signing on to represent them.

Demolition plans

The Depok city administration picked earlier this year the city-owned 1,600 square-meter plot of land on which the school resides as the location for the mosque to cut costs on land acquisition.

In June, Mayor Muhammad Idris penned a circular that formalized the change in status of the school’s land to become a site for a new place of worship.

With plans to construct the new mosque slated for early 2023, the students were asked to transfer to other local schools before Dec.12 to continue their schooling, while waiting for the Depok city administration to finish construction for a new school building for Pondok Cina 01 Elementary.

Although not directly opposing plans to convert the school into a mosque, the parents demanded that the Depok city administration finish construction of the new building first before they demolish the current one.

The parents also began stepping into teaching roles in classes for their own children, with the city administration pulling teachers away from classes starting November. As of Monday, some 180 students still attend school in person.

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