Margareth S. Aritonang, Jakarta – Joining a chorus of criticism from rights activists and religious leaders, members of the House of Representatives have called for the dismissal of Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali for his failure to uphold religious tolerance in the country.

Muhammad Oheo Sinapoy, a House member in Commission VIII overseeing religious and social affairs who represents the Golkar Party, said Suryadharma did not have the competency to handle religious issues in the country and should therefore resign from his post soon.

"He has failed to fulfill his responsibility as a minister and he therefore must resign," he told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday on the sidelines of a House session to amend the 2008 Law on Haj Pilgrimage Management.

Oheo went so far as to suggest that the Religious Affairs Ministry should be disbanded because it had failed to serve as a guardian for religious harmony in the country and its minister had often fanned the flames of religious intolerance.

"The ministry has always been absent at times of religious conflict. It never comes up with progressive solutions to resolve conflicts, including attacks on religious minority groups.

"The minister has failed to lead the ministry to perform its main duty – encouraging the public to respect religious differences. This may be because the ministry is too busy taking care of the haj pilgrimage," he said.

Fellow lawmaker HM Busro said that Suryadharma had shown no leadership when it came to advocating religious tolerance across the archipelago. "He is responsible for bringing down religious harmony in the country. He should have worked harder to promote respect and tolerance among people of different faiths," he said.

Suryadharma, who also chairs the Muslim-oriented United Development Party (PPP), was earlier criticized by activists for calling the Shiite branch of Islam heretical because it deviated from mainstream Islamic teachings.

He had made similar accusations about the Islamic Ahmadiyah sect previously, which he also called heretical, and urged its followers to return to the true teachings of Islam.

Contacted separately, the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) chairman Amidhan Shaberah came to Suryadharma's defense. He told Post that there was nothing wrong with Suryadharma's statement about the Shiite community although he called on the minister to be more careful with the word "heretical".

"His statement was spontaneous after he had a meeting with some Muslim leaders from Madura. He doesn't have to issue an apology, as demanded by some people, because he did nothing wrong. However, he should have shown more respect to others when making a public statement," he said.

Muhammadiyah chairman Din Syamsuddin said that although Suryadharma was a controversial minister, calling for the disbandment of his ministry was too much.

"The ministry has its weaknesses, but regardless we still need the ministry to accommodate all faiths in the country. Can you imagine how worse off religion in Indonesia would be if we didn't have the ministry? It's already bad enough with one ministry tasked with handling such problems," he said.