For the first in a long time -almost 50 years- Indonesia has welcomed a Christian police officer to be the nation's new police chief.
President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo personally nominated Comr. Gen. Listyo Sigit Prabowo for the post, The Jakarta Post reported. Prabowo was the President's former adjutant and also the head of the Criminal Investigation Department.
On January 27, Prabowo was officially sworn in as the successor of the outgoing police chief, Gen. Idham Azis, UCA News reported.
According to The Christian Post, Prabowo's installment as a Christian officer is the first in Indonesia, a Muslim-majority nation, since its independence in August 1945. This also marks the third time in the country's history that someone from a religious minority holds office in the national government.
Prabowo's appointment was unanimously approved by the House of Representatives despite resistance from Islamic adherents.
"Even though Indonesia is a secular country, it would not be appropriate if the leader of the police had a non-Muslim background. It was natural for leaders of any country to have the same religion as that of the majority of the population," says Muhyiddin Junaidi, leader of the Indonesian Ulema Council.
In Prabowo's defense, the Communion of Churches in Indonesia (CCI/PGI) states that the new chief's religion was not the basis for his appointment, but what he has accomplished for his country.
"Prabowo's religion did not play a role, what matters is his past achievements and successes, as well as his vision for the future of Indonesia as a democratic, free, but orderly country," they said.
"His appointment shows that every citizen has the same rights to reach a position of leadership," they added.
Father Paulus Christian Siswantoko, executive secretary for the Indonesian Bishops' Commission for the Laity, praised President Widodo for his decision.
"This is an affirmation that this nation chooses leaders not based on religion, not based on a minority or majority, but based on achievement, track record and vision," he told UCA News.
Prabowo gave his word that he'll champion religious freedom and will try to promote diversity. He will also address issues on intolerance and radicalism.
He added that he'll work "to create a trustworthy and transparent police, to be the protector of all citizens of the nation."
"The various experiences of the nation and the state so far will certainly be valuable lessons for all of us in the effort to continue police reform," he told Evangelical Focus.
Indonesia's Religious Profile
According to Open Doors USA's 2021 World Watch List, Indonesia ranks 47th in Christian persecution worldwide. With Islam being the predominant religion in the country, Indonesian Muslims bent on radicalism have succeeded to push their agenda on their government including the persecution of religious minorities.
According to The Christian Post, the recent 2020 report by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom indicates that "many religious minorities are prosecuted under blasphemy laws, and intolerant hardline groups continue to threaten religious minority houses of worship."
"Reports from local nongovernmental organizations indicated that the provinces of West Java, Jakarta, and East Java had the highest number of incidents of religious intolerance - including discrimination, hate speech, acts of violence, and rejections of permits to build houses of worship for minority religious communities," their annual report states.
