Thousands rally for education bill
Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Tens of thousands of Muslims rallied outside the House of Representatives complex here to demand the controversial education bill be passed on Tuesday.
The bill is opposed by non-Islamic and secular nationalist groups including Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), the largest Muslim organization in Indonesia.
However, those against the bill, mostly Christian groups, refrained from staging a rival rally at the House, apparently to avoid a clash.
The Muslim crowd chanted religious songs and waved banners in support of the bill, urging the legislators to pass it immediately.
"Save the religious community from apostasy," read one banner.
The controversy centers on an article stipulating that all students, even in religion-based private schools, must receive religious instruction in their own faith.
Consequently, religious-based schools that have students from other faiths will in future have to provide religious teachers for those faiths.
The protesters said the bill was fair, arguing it accommodated the aspirations of most people in the predominantly Muslim country.
It was in line with the 1945 Constitution, which guarantees religious freedom, they added.
Some of the demonstrators claimed those opposing the bill were missionaries wanting to see Muslims converted away from their religion as many Muslims go to Christian schools.
The huge protest by various Muslim organizations crippled the streets leading to and from the House compound on Jl. Gatot Subroto, Central Jakarta, for hours.
Almost all the streets surrounding the compound -- Jl. Gelora I in front of the Ministry of Forestry complex, Jl. Gelora and Jl. Gatot Subroto -- were closed for several hours.
Many motorists were desperately rerouted to alternative roads, causing severe congestion. The traffic jams got worse as hundreds of vehicles carrying the protesters were parked in parts of those street sections.
"Turn back. You cannot pass this way. The street is totally closed," said a motorist forced to turn back due to the rally.
Muhammad N., an employee from a private firm, said it took him more than three hours to travel from his home to his office in Palmerah near the House complex. The trip normally took 30 minutes by private car, he said.
"That's really annoying," he sighed.
Only a few police personnel were seen attempting to control the traffic chaos.
A number of House members were among those caught in the traffic, making them late for the plenary session discussing the bill.
The rally was peaceful, but noisy, with several public figures among the crowd, including secretary-general of the Indonesian Council of Ulemas (MUI) Din Syamsuddin, Justice Party (PK) chairman Hidayat Nurwahid and movie star Neno Warisman.
The protesters, many of them school students, wore class uniforms or political party T-shirts. Many female demonstrators wore traditional Islamic head coverings.
They included supporters of PK, MUI, the Hisbullah Front, the Muslim Student Association (HMI) and the Mosque Youth group.
"What I know is that the education bill will be endorsed today. But, I don't know anything about it because our teachers have yet to tell us about it," said Rizky, a student from the Gema Nurani Islamic junior high school in Bekasi, West Java.
"We staged similar rallies twice last week to support the bill," said another student from the same school.
Manan, a second grade student from state Islamic high school Madrasah Aliyah Negeri in Menteng, Central Jakarta, said he took part in the rally because the bill would improve national education.
However, Like many other students, he could not explain how it would promote a better education system.